


The Dark Phoenix

by dexf, dimensionhoppingrose, Eva_aka_Pinkfox, fatessilence, FritoKAL, Haywire, iamthez, Indiana_J, Kate, LadySeraph, lisabounce, Luciain, Rossi, Sephirajo, untune_the_sky, X_Project, Zippit



Series: The Dark Phoenix Saga [5]
Category: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Project RPG
Genre: End of the World, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 06:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 51,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12227361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dexf/pseuds/dexf, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/dimensionhoppingrose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eva_aka_Pinkfox/pseuds/Eva_aka_Pinkfox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatessilence/pseuds/fatessilence, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FritoKAL/pseuds/FritoKAL, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haywire/pseuds/Haywire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamthez/pseuds/iamthez, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indiana_J/pseuds/Indiana_J, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate/pseuds/Kate, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySeraph/pseuds/LadySeraph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisabounce/pseuds/lisabounce, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luciain/pseuds/Luciain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rossi/pseuds/Rossi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirajo/pseuds/Sephirajo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/untune_the_sky/pseuds/untune_the_sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/X_Project/pseuds/X_Project, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zippit/pseuds/Zippit
Summary: Leading directly on fromReality Coming Down, the remaining mutants gather to defend the mansion from inter-dimensional marauder, Dark Phoenix.Part 5 of theThe Dark Phoenix Saga. Plot by Dex.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The injured X-Men in the med lab break off into two groups. One to reinforce the Professor, one to mount a defense.

The explosions from above ground were growing closer and louder, occasionally shaking the medlab as the various residents were dressing. Amelia was running about, trying to talk some of the still more seriously injured from getting up but there was no other choice. The mansion had been ambushed and children had formed the last line of defense. They could no longer wait and hope for the rest of the team to reach them in time.

"The Professor is underground. He says he's heading for Cerebro. He'll try and slow down the attacker telepathically and help coordinate." Kane said, standing by the intercom. They had shifted a feed from outside and could clearly see the firebird descending on them, with what looked to be Jean Grey in the heart of it. "The India team is inbound but they're still a ways away. We need to slow that thing down."

"I'm well enough. Just point me in the appropriate direction." Even with the borrowed healing factor Marius' wounds were only barely closed, but at the moment he was disinclined to let such details factor into his decision. For days students, residents and volunteers had been doing the heavy lifting in investigation and against extra-dimensional counterparts. He would willingly face a temporally displaced version of himself or a Nazi Jean Grey if it meant the chance to leave the Medlab and his own thoughts and act.

"Right," Angel grunted as she forced her head through a shirt, a surprisingly difficult task that left her wobbling for a moment. "What Marius said." Though for all her talk - which wasn't much to begin with really - she was more plaster and bandages than girl at that moment. But she was also already sick of laying around the med lab and letting everybody else do her job for her - especially the kids.

Angelo had his injured arm wrapped in a sling of his own skin, held close to his body, and hadn't bothered with trying to button his shirt. "If we're it, we're it."

It still felt like her brains were swishing about her skull like someone was swirling it in a soda bottle from when Oracle had pumped trauma into her brain, but Rachel at that moment looked more pissed than in pain from where she was leaning against Angelo. "She'll squish us all like ants if we don't go about this with some kind of plan. Y'know, other than 'let's throw our broken bodies at her'." 

"I'm going to help the professor. Rachel, I think we could use you, too." Jim didn't want to voice anything definite, but if this Phoenix's power levels were anything like Jean's had been -- and, to all appearances, that estimate was actually conservative -- then they would need to move, and move fast. The damage to the mansion was appalling, and if her telepathy was on the same level as her telekinesis. . .

"I'll go with you Jim. You will need a non telepath." Lorna leaned against her makeshift metal crutches with her left leg in a cast. "My leg might be broken but I can still throw sharp metal thingies."

"No, can y–Jesus Christ, Amelia, it's fine!" A shout from down the hall resonated through the medlab. Then, a pause and a crash. "See? Bounced right off me. Powers are back. I'll be okay." Moments later, Cecilia appeared, two bottles of extra-strength Tylenol in her hands and a bag slung across her shoulder. "Here." She tossed a bottle to Lorna. "Load up."

"Dr. Vogt and I had a disagreement, but she's staying here." Cecilia ignored what she had to assume was an amused look from Haller and a bemused one from everyone else. "Not really sure what the rest of you are planning, but, you know. Doctors gonna doct." As well as doctors good, anyway, given how much pain they were in after tussling with the super-charged '80s versions of themselves. "Those kids are gonna need help."

She popped the cap off the bottle, tipped two pills into her hand and passed it to her left.

Jean-Phillipe's powers tended to burn off things like painkillers at the best of times, but every little bit helped. He shook out a few pills and tossed them into his mouth, then jerked his head back to dry swallow them. "Merde." His entire body felt like one enormous raw nerve ending. But he could still fight.

Jennie didn't have the help of a healing factor, or an advanced mutant physiology. Barrage had broken three ribs on Muir, plus given her second degree burns. Her head was still a swirl of pain and the medicine to fight the pain, and while she was upright, but using a wall as a support. Her chest taped in bandages, clad in pajama bottoms and a kimono top, she was broken and beaten, and wanting for all the world to find someplace dark and safe to hide. There was a small pat of her that was whispering that this was the night that they would all die. Plus her fear of that other, ravenous part of her, that would rise past the fog of the drugs and pain and hurt whomever it was out there just as much. Her thumb touched the ring on her finger, back in its rightful place. 

She swallowed, she would do what she had to. Jennie handed the bottle to her left, she needed her mind as clear as possible tonight. 

"Pass. It'll just mess me up more." Kyle's injuries hadn't been apparent until the X-Men had returned home, but pulling Logan out of the fight had left him with dozens of stress fractures to his vertebrae, head trauma and internal bruising that had him prone and fighting vertigo until only hours before. He was still unsteady on his feet, and passed the bottle on with slightly numb fingers. "Not gonna be much use fighting, not my power set." He barked a dark laugh. "And we're not the only hot mess down here. Kids are in the shelters." He hoped.

"Alright, energy casters and anyone not too banged up, follow me. We'll see if we can delay this bitch coming at us. Kurt, way don't you take the others, see if you can dig out the kids and Emma? The X-Men are going to be coming in from that direction." 

Kurt nodded agreement, already moving to go and do so.

"Follow me. And let us hope Emma had time to switch to diamond form."

"Wait for me." Sooraya gingerly moved into the room to spare her sore body, tying her hair back with some difficulty. "If we need to dig the kids out, I can at least find them. The quicker we can get them out of here, the better." Accepting the bottle of pain killers someone handed her, she tipped out two and swallowed them dry, before following Kurt. 

Jubilee sighed and rubbed a hand along the back of her neck, she'd seen what DP had done to Apocalypse, if she'd had any kind of choice she'd have preferred a nice small civil war, or nuclear exchange between the U.S and Russia then to go outside and try slow her down. It wasn't looking like she had much choice, however. She supposed today was as good a day as any to die. 

"Looks like I'm with you, Gar. Let's hope she doesn't turn us all into slag before the rest of the team get here, yeah?" 

Jubilee waved away the pain killers when Sooraya offered, and threw them to North instead, cracking her neck to get tired and sore muscles to release a little more. She'd stuffed herself with easy food on their return the mansion but healing all the bruises was going to take awhile. There was something to be said for not standing toe to toe with people bigger then you and letting them punch you in the face. 

"Tell me you've got a rocket launcher or something stashed in your pants." 

“Or something.”

The older spy flashed an uncharacteristically rougish grin at her and popped three pills, tossing the bottle at Doug’s head as he crunched on them like they were candy. North looked half-crazed – beard matted with dried blood and bandages visible under his tattered trench coat – so much so that it would have been easy to believe that he was overcome with bloodlust. But there was also a calm to his face and steel to his backbone making it also easy to believe that he was in complete control of his senses – all six of them.

He patted the straps sung across his torso for the pair of sniper rifles sitting snug against his back, hip, arm and calve holsters loaded with a set of handguns he had managed to retrieve from a personal stash near the mansion. 

“Time to go, I think,” he announced to the room at large, moving towards Garrison with a limp. “Not coming with us, Cypher?”

"Somebody's gotta watch the rear guard." Left unsaid by Doug, though communicated between him and North by eye, was that someone should be willing to do whatever it took, including killing, to protect the students. So it made sense to have one of them each covering a group. "You'll get by somehow without me, _Greis_."

***

Laurie had been hooked up to an IV and was holding the bag slightly above her head to make sure it drained properly as she crept across the rubble, following the others as they evacuated the mansion. Amelia seemed to be everywhere at once, although Laurie suspected that was more that she was drifting in and out of awareness then that the other woman had somehow developed the ability to multiply herself at will.

It was hard to keep moving when what she most wanted to do was lay down. She knew she was still very much in danger of going into shock if she didn't watch herself. She hugged the bag against her chest for a second and adjusted the sling with her good hand before picking it back up again and holding it high. As much as she put on a brave face, as much as she could be okay with being alive, Tabitha a glowing example of just how glad she was to be alive, she felt so numb and so painfully wrong all at once. If someone had called her a zombie, a moving set of bones with only the shreds of humanity left to keep it animated she would not have foresworn them as crazy. 

God, all those people, all her friends and the people she loved, and the people she'd only ever had a meeting in the hall with. Why hadn't she tried harder to know them? It wasn't like she couldn't have had a damn conversation, maybe taken a moment between reading and studying. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken to Tabitha for anything more then a Danger room run, or maybe about whether a book was still on the shelf. 

It wasn't even war, it wasn't anything, it was just bodies, and rubble and somewhere up above a screaming fire that wanted to end them all, and how could anyone have said that that was just? How could any God have let that stand when they're only ever wanted peace, and to help. She hated them, she couldn't help it, she wanted more then anything for them to be dead, for Jean, or the Phoenix or whatever that thing was to be dead and that hurt so much. Because Jean, because how could that be okay? How could hating someone who looked like Jean, wanting her dead, how could that ever be okay? 

But she did, she hated and she wanted, and it was so hard. 

Lost in her thoughts as she was, Laurie did not see the Trenchcoat hobbling down the hallway, pausing to speak with Amelia with his weight partially born by a rifle - an odd crutch to be using, for sure, but not surprising considering the circumstances. 

North approached again at a sedate pace, his outward calm out of place amidst the flurry of chaos going on around the mansion. He stopped Laurie with an outstretched hand, not quite touching her arm as he cocked his head at her.

"Have you seen Doug, Miss?" 

Laurie blinked at him, a moment of confusion crossing her face before recognition set in. "Not since the evacuation started, is he okay?"

Panic was not normally an emotion that she allowed, especially not during a time when her control on her abilities was shaken at best. She backed away from North, crouching down in the hallway to put her head on her knees. She'd seen the technique work for someone once.

"You should probably go."

It was muffled, but she was proud her voice was still steady, and that she hadn't burst into tears quite yet. 

There was a quiet sigh before she felt the weight of someone settling in beside her with a grunt of pain. North had his bad leg stretched out in front of him, his makeshift crutch propped up against the wall alongside of him.

He did not have a paper bag at hand so he settled for the only other way he knew how to quell a panic attack in the shortest time possible.

"I am going to put my arms around you, and you are going to breathe with me, all right?" The spy said, gruff voice gentle, if not soothing, as he carefully placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly guided her back to lean against his chest. 

Laurie allowed herself to be pulled into the hold, trying to get her breathing under control. If she'd had breath for it, she might have warned him away but she didn't, nor did she really want to do this alone either. 

They breathed together after Laurie had struggled to match the rise and fall of his chest, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist such that he was not hindering her ability to escape. Each inhale was deep and each exhale was long until North was sure that she was not going to start hyperventilating.

"Doug is fine," he finally said, voice pitched low and quiet, knowing that while her panic had abated, the darker feelings that were gripping her were probably not going anywhere for a while.

He shifted around, left arm groping at the floor to her side before it found purchase on a bag of liquid which the German man raised above her shoulder.

"Thank you, I'm not usually the person panicking."

Laurie could only hug herself with one arm now, and the reminder that she now lacked the other wasn't particularly the self-comforting gesture. She smiled wryly at herself and rested her head against North's shoulder.

"Will you do me a favour and tell me a happy lie? I think I could use a little less truth right now."

North grimaced and looked down at the woman he had only seen a few times before. Anyone who knew and knew of him would know that he usually was the last person to do the comforting or to be comforted. Empty words and lies were things he rarely indulged in, if at all. 

So the first thing out of his mouth was, naturally: "Everything is going to be all right." And because that sounded trite even to his own ears, he patted her remaining hand and added: "And you should trust the precog."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The X-Men returning from India land after Dark Phoenix forces them from the sky and encounter the destroyed mansion.

The Blackbird was coming out of top speed, having coaxed every extra bit they could returning from the destruction in India. Half those aboard were wounded and several had not made it out of the base. They had picked up the distress signal from the mansion along with the images of the Firebird descending on it. The mansion was being torn to pieces, and they caught sight of several of the students before parts were flattened, burying them in the rubble. 

The plan was simple; get close enough to VTOL down and send the rest of the teams to take on what they'd taken to calling Dark Phoenix while the injured are evacuated back to the plane. Unfortunately the plan fell apart almost immediately as once they transitioned to VTOL mode, a telekinetic grip seized the plane and it was smashed into the ground. One wing was hopelessly twisted and the people inside stunned. 

Slowly, they levered the rear door open, and stepped out into the fury of the attack. There was only a brief moment to coordinate before they moved off in groups to try and find their people on the ground. 

Adrienne hung back in the plane, elbows on knees, head in hands. "I think I'm gonna sit this one out if that's cool," she called out, even though no one had asked. "Sifting through rubble that used to be the mansion? I might break a nail. Get my clothes dirty. I don't think that's gonna work for me right now." 

There was a hand on her shoulder, and a bright smile that was totally out of place given the state of the blackbird and the sounds of collapse coming from outside. That was all Arthur did to try to comfort her, but his eyes searched their little group for anyone who had a gameplan. 

"What's the protocol for an attack here? Would the students have grouped? Is there a bunker?" He asked no one in particular. 

"There is," Callisto said, "but they didn't even make it to the right part of the building, from what we've seen - everything must've just happened far too fast." The brunette glanced in Adrienne's direction before straightening-up a little. "Plan's unchanged," she said. "Find the injured, get 'em to safety. We do the first bit and see where we are come the second." 

The hand still on Adrienne's shoulder turned into a brief grip of reassurance before Arthur moved forward and toward the door. He turned his smile up a few notches. "Hear that? Your families and friends are out there. They need us. We're bringing hope." 

"The kids are smart and far more capable than I was at that age." He pointed at the Blackbird's exit, but his eyes moved from Adrienne to Cammie to Callisto as if trying to will his good humor into them. "They'll have figured out a way to keep safe. We just have to find them." 

"Too bad we're probably all going to die here, or I'd suggest you start a new career as a motivational speaker," Adrienne muttered glumly, getting to her feet wearily. She spent a moment trying to brush some of the dust and grime off herself before deciding it was a lost cause. 

"Shut up, we're not going to fucking die," Cammie said, checking what was left of her wrappings, "Anyone have anything to drink? I'm out of antifreeze," she said, holding up a silver colored whiskey flask, "Not that it will do much good, but hey, I'm thirsty."

Adrienne flipped her off and stuck her tongue out at Cammie before tossing the green-haired girl her own flask. "I told Summers it's coffee." She always told Summers her flask had coffee in it. "But it's bourbon."

Cammie caught the flask with ease and took a swig, "There are some good things about you," she said, "This will work. Anyone else want a drink? If we are going to die the rest of you might as well get drunk. Fuck knows I can't, but drunk people are fun to watch."

Callisto seemed to be ignoring this exchange, straightening up as she exited the twisted wreck and pulling off the headphones she always wore in the Blackbird to minimise the temporarily tinnitus it gave her, tossing them aside and running her hands through her filthy mop of hair."Right, we're this way," she said, tipping her head in their direction. She glanced at Adrienne, but said nothing about the other woman's current demeanour right then. "Stay low, stay safe. We find people, we get them to safety. We good?" She scanned the faces before her, but didn't wait for a response. "Right. Let's go."

***

Remy and 'Ro were gone. Dead. They sacrificed themselves, and for what, Rogue thought bitterly. They escaped India barely, only for the Mansion to be attacked. 

And now they were brought down by who knows what, staring at the chaos that was supposed to be their home, their haven. 

Enough was enough. 

She gauged the situation, eyes narrowed, with her hands on her hips. "Right. I ain't no leader, and y'all are all veterans, but I think it needs to be said." She cleared her throat. "People have died. We got Jean back. And now Emma's crew needs help. That's all we are focusing on. We can break down later, and I assure ya, I got dibs on all the wine in Westchester, but let's do this now. For everyone." 

She was oddly proud of herself for not crying. Not yet, at least. 

"Wolverine, you're up with me at the front," Wade said. "Daytripper and Rogue, bring up the rear. Everybody else pair up. We'll be moving fast to get to the White Queen. Does anybody have comms? My earwig's dead, I got nothing coming through." He wasn't sure how well this was going to work - ideally he'd leave the injured and the concussed at the Blackbird, but there were no guarantees they'd be safe there given what they were going up against. That left then with a basic vanguard and rearguard protection formation and a hope that nobody collapsed on the way - or lost control of their powers because that would suck a lot. 

"Mine's out too." Amanda had a visible bruise rising on her cheekbone, from where she'd smacked her face into the back of the seat in front of her, but she was upright and functioning, even if it took every ounce of discipline to push down her reactions to losing teammates. Friends. She grimaced, swallowing hard against the sudden lump in her throat. "Normally I'd suggest Jean do the brain tap thing, but..." She glanced apologetically at the suppression device Jean was wearing.

Jean had been quiet for most of the trip. She hadn't said a word to anyone, including Scott. Her mind had been drifting, partially unwilling, partially by choice. The reports were in. There was a duplicate of her that had likely been the one that razed the city in India to the ground and chose the mansion as it's next target. 

Truth be told, she wasn't surprised. It explained the sense of dread she had been having when she woke up, and potentially the dreams. At the time she didn't quite know what it all meant, despite vague inklings that she had partially chalked up to grief. But upon hearing the news it confirmed a suspicion she had but wouldn't let herself fully acknowledge. And for her alternate self to go to the mansion to lay siege was something she would have done, something Jane would have done anyway. 

She knew to go for the heart. 

"She would use it anyway. Try to listen in," she said softly. "If she could." They trusted that she would never read their minds. It was because she had built that trust over years. This version of herself wouldn't show the same restraint.

Scott winced as he put his weight down on an injured foot and shook his head, "We've got to assume that she is listening to us right now," he pointed out gesturing back at the ruins of the Blackbird, "She's certainly aware of us, and comms or not there isn't anything we can do to stop her picking through our heads if she wants to." Even the strongest of defenses would shatter under the kind of power they were seeing, "That is if she even notices us," He nodded in Wade and Rogue's direction, "Deadpool and Rogue are right, we just need to get moving ." 

"That fucker may have done a number on me back in India, but you can still count on me. I'm not trained like you X-Men types, but I sure as fuck can carry my own weight. Count on me to watch them." Jessica began, gesturing toward Pixie and Julian. "I'm invulnerable and, thanks to Rogue, I know how to use it." She finished, crossing her arms in determination. Her head HURT and her body was dying for some rest. But fuck that. This was her chance to be the hero that she'd always wanted to be. To be the woman who, those few years ago, decided to put her powers to good use. The woman untouched by the darker side of things. To be Jewel. 

Pixie looked up, her eyes a deep black. The rest of her face was eerily pale and expressionless. "I can still fight. We will drive the enemy out of our home." Her hand moved to her belt, where she'd tucked the Soul Dagger. Her fingers were shaking slightly.

Likewise, Julian stood on wobbly feet, his head still ringing, though not as much as it had before, a bandage wrapped around part of his head. "I'm not sitting this out either, let's get moving." Uncertainty wavered behind his blue eyes for a moment as he held out a hand to Pixie, offering to help her up- resolved steeled there a moment later, as his trademark cocky smile broke through the pained expression he'd been wearing most of the flight, "No one else dies today." Secretly, Julian was very glad for the painkillers he'd taken in flight.

"Let's make damn sure that's the case." They'd lost enough already. They couldn't afford to lose more lives. Even if they were protecting the one place so many of them viewed as home. Logan glanced around. This wasn't the kind of fight they'd come to expect. This was about survival, pure and simple, and not some greater cause or ideal. No matter what happened, coming out on the other side was going to suck. "Alright folks, let's get this show on the road. We don't have time to waste."

Wanda was the last to rise and her movements were stiff, a lingering present from India along with the bruises that darkened parts of her face. To most on the plane, she probably looked exhausted but stoic, face set like stone; but she knew a few, most likely Amanda, could see past the facade to the grief at losing people so dear to her. Their team had always known, right from when Pete and Remy had asked them to join in, what might be at the end of the path for all of them. But knowing and dealing with it weren't always the same.

She took a deep breath and gestured towards the exit for the Blackbird. "Let us see if we can make that happen, Julian," she said calmly, though she doubted every word. "Allons-y, if you all would be so kind."

***

Marie-Ange shook herself, trying to clear the dizziness and pain away - there wasn't time for headaches. "Rocky, Facade, I need you with me. If we have survivors, I want to know where and how badly they are hurt." She turned briefly, to find Husk just behind her, and gave the other woman a nod. "You and Nevermore, on heavy lifting, literally. I can add structure support if we need time to move anyone out. William, if you have energy left, I need you to destroy anything keeping us from getting where we need to be." 

She didn't wait for any of them to answer - just swept forward, bare arms and torn clothes slowly being covered by the bulky armor that was on the card in her hand. 

Paige followed suit, re-husking from her automatic stone husk into a lighter diamond one as she followed Marie-Ange, plowing through the knee high debris and creating a path for those behind her. "Not a problem."

Billy closed his eyes a moment. He suspected it was half in his mind, but he the chaos around was almost tangible, like the static energy in the air before a storm. Except this storm was already there, and the chaos with it, just waiting to be used. He the lightning, instantly covering his hands and forearms. "Blow things up. Got it." 

Korvus followed Paige's cleared path, deliberately tossing aside any debris that settled back into the path after being shoved by the diamond body in front of him.

Artie nodded. He moved his rifle around, holding it ready and picked up the backpack with first aid supplies, water, power bars and gu. He'd eaten and slept on the plane. He could almost believe that he was functional, save for the exhausted shaking his hands gave off whenever he stopped for too long. He gave a thumbs up and moved out. 

Doreen took a deep breath, "Okay Miss Colbert," she said, "It's hard to really smell anything right now though, there's... a lot of scents everywhere. I mean, I can try to sort it out," she said. And she would. She could do it, right? In the end though it was like Yoda always said, do or do not, there is no try. So she'd go out there and she'd do it and she'd kick ass. 

"Just tell me what you can." Marie-Ange suggested. "Even a little bit might lead us somewhere." 

She followed just behind Dori, across the destroyed remains of the left wing of the mansion until the younger woman stopped, snuffled a bit and then started pulling up debris. 

Seeing Dori dig, Korvus moved in alongside her naturally. He pulled the huge blade from his back, shoving it into the rubble under a large beam to use like a lever. The young man got under the haft in a squat, using all his strength to lift up a large section of crumbled wreckage.

Every time they shifted a piece of debris, Artie was there, sending down a projection, ribbons of softly glowing text reading "Are you down there? We're coming, okay. Just hang on". He couldn't move as much debris as the other three could but he could and did shift as much as he could and while they were moving the heavy stuff, he was focused on security, on watching the area around the mansion. Was it safe? Was it cleared? Was that movement? He swung his gun up and stared, fixedly, at the shadow he thought he'd seen move. It didn't move again and he sent another projection down into the rubble. 

Dori sniffed and moved through the rubble, her hands slowly picking through things. She was far from her normal, chipper self, "Why did this happen?" she muttered.

Paige came over and helped her with one of the larger stones, a sharp almost smile on her sparkly features. "You're doing great, Dori. Just keep it up."

"Keep digging. I will shore up as much as I can. Artie, as soon as Doreen gives the word, you are on point for to make light." Marie-Ange knelt down, fingers splayed on a piece of wood. "Be prepared to move fast. None of this is stable."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first group of injured hits Dark Phoenix, but are rebuffed quickly, forcing a temporary holding action as they pull others out of the rubble.

The mansion was in a shambles, the roof gone and vast chunks torn out of the walls. The telekinetic winds buffeted them as they left the shelter's door, ducking to avoid the rubble as more holes were punched into the dying building. The firebird hovered at the eye of the storm, surrounded by the debris being torn out and tossed aside. She hadn't appeared to have spotted them yet and the mutants crouched behind a half wall to plan.

"OK, that's a fuck of a lot more terrifying than I was expecting." Kane said grimly. "If we can distract her one way, we might be able to surprise her coming the other."

The swirls of probability were giving Jennie a headache, and she covered one eye to focus. "I can't see anything set, it's all changing too fast." It still hurt to breathe, her ribs hadn't fully healed from the night on Muir, but she had distance and range. "We've got heavy hitters, not much range. Someone'll have to try and get up close. I can luck whomevers going at her so... well, something good will happen." Hopefully it meant she wouldn't crush their skulls like an egg. "Marius, do you want a top-up, or a full deck?"

Marius flicked yellow eyes to his teammate, well aware of her injuries. "A disc will do for now. I'm going to hazard a guess that probability's wild enough at the moment, and if the last few days are to judge there are even odds we'll end up fighting ourselves; let's not complicate the issue. Besides, it's telekinesis. Barring creative use of debris, I can deal with a direct hit." He nodded at Garrison. "So yes, I volunteer as tribute. Still got enough feral in my system that I'm agile enough. Any volunteers for an assist?"

"Thought you'd never ask, Bitey" 

Jubilee looked like one solid bruise, one eye was swollen shut and while she was capable of movement, the look of pain when she did was obvious. Luckily for them all, Jubilee was used to working injured and pushing past all but fatal injuries.

"I can give her something interesting to look at, at least."

North knew he'd snap like a twig under a boot in the face of that power, notwithstanding the fact that he was recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. So he hunkered down beside Kane, closed his eyes and started focusing on the elevated beating of his heart. Visions flashed past in the mind's eye and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes lacked its usual pale blue irises. The next couple of minutes would be a whirlwind of motion either way and a heavy weight settled in his stomach. 

"Start flinging shit at her," he said to Angelo after a moment, swinging one the rifles he had slung over his back to the front - his only mode of attack. "It will not like that. And I hope no one is thinking of taking it down because..." Well, one thing at a time. "Can't see it yet." 

There was no shortage of shit to fling, and Angelo nodded curtly and set about it. One of the good things about his power was that he didn't have to rely on the strength of his muscles - he still had limits, but with his skin he could throw heavier things than he could ever have lifted.

Jean-Phillipe was better close up with his power - the farther he had to project electricity, the more effort it took. But he could do some - supplementing Jubilee's fireworks and Angelo's thrown debris with crackles of energy. At that kind of range it was more flash than impact, but given that their aim was distraction, it didn't matter quite so much. Sweat dripped down the Frenchman's face as he gestured and a ribbon of electrical energy went forward.

The blast grounded against her shield, spider-webbing out as it skittered along the TK, washing across looking for a weak point. She didn't seem to noticed until the first chunks of concrete smashed into the shield, stretching it slightly. She looked back and with a flick on her hand, a heavy beam pulled up from the ground and smashed into Jean-Phillipe, knocking him flat.

Kane waited for Jubilee's fireworks to crackle against the shield before he hefted the heavy piece of rebar he'd cleared from the rubble and rushed forward. His range was more limited than normal, but he still hit the shield like a steam engine, punching the rebar in front of him like a lance. The impact made the shield shudder. Unfortunately, it held and Kane was tossed back with the force of a car crash, punching through a wall before rolling to a stop.

Marius forced himself to ignore Garrison and Jean-Phillipe; he wasn't going to let this escalate. Not this time. 

The X-Man bounded towards the woman's back, eyes slitted against the strobe of Jubilee's plasma and trusting in the good luck Jennie'd given him to ensure his path wouldn't put him in front of Angelo and North's ballistics. There was a painful pulse of pressure as his mutation struggled to compensate for the telekinetic shield, and then he was through. He leaped, hands outstretched and mouths gaping. It didn't matter how strong she was; he'd never met a mutant able to sustain full power once he'd begun to feed. 

A slab of concrete tore itself from the rubble and slammed him from the air as if he were nothing more than a ping-pong ball. The woman never even turned. 

Jennie reacted first, tossing a white disk, realizing half a second too late that she could not affect the outcome of her friend, as he only absorbed her power. She could only look on in mute horror as he hit the ground hard, and she thought she heard bones snap. He lay there for a moment, horribly still, and then his face twisted in agony. 

"You moron," she sighed in relief. 

She turned to the older man at her side. "She's fucking bulletproof, isn't she?" she said, raising her voice as she cast another disk, causing the chunk of concrete headed towards them to miss them by inches and take out another wall.

“Yes,” North replied solemnly, and she saw that while he had his gun trained on their attacker, he had long since stopped firing. “Her telekinetic shields are too strong. Even a rocket launcher would bounce off them. There is nothing…” He turned to give Jennie a blank look, eyes still a filmy white before they snapped back to the battlefield. 

“Jubilation, down!”

Jubilee dropped to the ground as a well aimed piece of building sailed over her. She rolled onto her back and blasted the chunk with several plasmoids in order to turn it into gravel rather then a weapon.

"Thanks, Grumpy. So, any ideas? Gar, you conscious?"

She flipped herself up onto her feet and went to peer into the hole he'd made in the wall, confident North would warn her if something came at her again.

"If you're dead Adri is gonna be pissed."

"How you are a secret agent is beyond me." Kane slowly levered himself up, head ringing from the force of the blow. "We haven't made a damn dent in her yet, have we?"

"Remy's probably been hit in the head a few too many times and your Uncle Pete needed all the strays to unlock the special bonus level, or the other way round. Either way, they saved me."

Jubilee squinted against the fiery form of the Phoenix and tried to judge as to whether she actually looked stronger then before.

"I think maybe I saw her laughing her ass off before, but I could be wrong. You got any super crafty strategic advice, or do we just keep throwing ourselves at her and hope she breaks a nail?"

Marius, who had limped back to join them behind cover, looked from Garrison's bloodied face to where Angelo was hastily working to dig out Jean-Phillipe. He turned to Jubilee, half his face already beginning to swell.

"If the latter," he said, "this time, I vote ladies first."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The X-Men start trying to dig out the survivors.

The right wing of the mansion had been partially collapsed and fire was starting to lick the edges of the ruined walls. From the other side of the house they could see flares of the firebird and the sounds of combat. Obviously, the X-Men at the mansion had begun their assault, giving them time to try and pull their friends out of the rubble.

Arthur was already hard at work shifting through the rubble, still smiling. It twitched on its edges. "We'll be sure to find someone..."

He trailed off, tossing more bits of debris behind him. The other members of the rescue team worked similarly.

"Any luck?"

Adrienne was sitting on a pile of debris, head in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to dig through the remains of her home to search for dead students and friends. She couldn't even bring herself to get to her feet. Staring at the ground, she assumed Arthur's comment had been directed at someone else and didn't acknowledge it.

"Hey." Adrienne felt hands come to rest on her knees, and when she looked up, Callisto was crouched in front of her. "Still with me here?" she asked quietly. The other woman was an incredible mess: her hair was still caked with dried blood and dust, the scarred, pitted skin of her face covered with a layer of grime, streaked where tears had washed if off. "You still with me?" she asked again.

Adrienne flinched at the touch and the acknowledgement of it forced her to focus on Cal's face. "Not in the slightest," she admitted, though she sounded like she felt a little bad about it. "There's a reason I never became a firefighter, and this is it. If there weren't ruined buildings to sift through, I totally would have become one. I like suspenders. And poles." It was easier to make asinine comments than process what she was supposed to be doing.

Callisto nodded slowly. "Well, I hate to ask you to ruin a good manicure," she murmured quietly, lips giving a tiny twitch as her filthy hands found Adrienne's and wrapped around them, pulling them away from her face and toward her. "But odds are there are live kids down there. Wanna give me a hand with some rubble? I'll let you take the light end..." It was weird, 'cause Callisto was quipping right back, and that wasn't particularly unusual, and yet when she met Callisto's eyes all Adrienne saw was sadness, and along with it an outright, desperate plea. As if to emphasise this, Callisto added, in the softest of voices: "Please."

Adrienne had to laugh wryly at the manicure comment. Because despite all she'd been through with Steven and with being a resident of this place, she was certain she'd never looked worse. Any remnants of a manicure had disappeared, seemingly long ago. "Alright," she acquiesced, letting Cal pull her to her feet. "I guess if you need my help, who am I to deny you?" She wasn't holding out much hope on the odds. But if if made Cal feel better to think there were still kids alive down there, Adrienne didn't think now was a good time to say otherwise.

"Hey, over here!" Arthur called cheerfully as he squatted near what had once been an archway.

There had been just enough room beneath the frame of what was left of the arch to keep from being crushed. As the rubble shifted above, Meggan tried to edge away from the stinging rocks that cut her arm more and cautiously climbed closer to what light seeped through in its wake. She coughed when that stirred up more dust in the space, too. At the sound of voices, she called out frantically, “I'm here. I'm right down this way!”

"Shit! Um, we're coming, Meggan. Don't get hurt - anymore - because Kurt something something, I fucking suck at this, but we're going to get you out of there, okay?" Cammie said, meaning the last part. They would get whoever was left out alive.

Giving Adrienne's hands a last squeeze, Callisto turned and began nimbly trotting over the debris to where Arthur was, crouching down and picking her way across the rubble. At first she was just feeling this beam, that chunk of masonry, and it didn't seem to the naked eye as though she was actually moving anything, but then she seemed to pick a place to start and braced herself to haul a lump of debris out from around the arch.

"Don't move," she called. To the assembled people on the surface she nodding to another big-looking masonry block. "We'll need that block moved too," she suggested. "The less crap's around it the cleaner it'll be; don't wanna knock stuff down on top of her."

The blonde man moved nimbly around Callisto's heavy lifting to supplement her work all while beaming at the spot that promised to Meggan in the rubble.

Adrienne wasn't too keen on helping with the heavy lifting, but she didn't want to face Amanda later knowing that she did nothing to help her sister, so she scuttled about with Arthur and Cammie to clean up the site while Cal hauled the big stuff away. The first big block gone, Callisto moved to where the others had cleared the smaller debris around a masonry block - perhaps a lintel? - that was significantly bigger than she was. Leaning to brace her shoulder to the block, Callisto wedged her fingers in beneath it.

"'Kay, this is gonna roll down that slope when I shift it so you'd better stand up here behind me," she instructed the others, and with a mighty heave she hauled the block up and away and, as predicted, it tumbled like a log a couple of times, the ground vibrating beneath them, before coming to a sluggish halt. The lintel had, it turned out, been Meggan's saving grace; it had sheltered the space beneath the archway where she'd found refuge and helped to create the little hole where she now waited.

"Okay, come on," Cammie said, moving as close as she could without falling in herself and reaching down, "Kurt will want to know you're alright, you know?" she said, pulling the other girl out of the hole as gently as she could, "So let's get back to him."

Meggan nodded as she was pulled from the hole, grateful to see everybody. She didn’t want to take a chance of the ground crumbling beneath her at the edge unexpectedly, and moved her feet away from that spot once she regained her footing. “Thank you so much. And yeah,” she agreed. “I want to see him, too.” She needed to see that Kurt was alive in person, too, now that she had a better look at the damage…and the fact was sinking in that it wasn’t just a portion of the building that had trapped her, but the whole mansion that had come down.

Adrienne took the walkie talkie off of her belt and made sure it was on the correct frequency. "Blink, we found Meggan. She's very much alive." It made her smile a little to be able to say that. "But it's getting pretty hot around here," she added as the flames from around the ruined walls continued to creep closer and closer to them. "Could we please get an extraction for her? And possibly the rest of us?"

Teleporting in, Clarice was exhausted and running on less than fumes at this point. "Yeah," she said, instead of going over the comms. "Let's get out of here," she picked Meggan up with Adrienne's help so they could blink out. A second later, the three were gone.

Callisto nodded. "This area's clear," she said. "I can't feel any other mutants around here."

Cammie took a deep breath, "Okay, maybe now we can get to where the action is? I'm ready to kick some ass, or do we keep looking here? I just..." she couldn't keep sorting through rubble. She needed to hit something.

Arthur nodded grimly, his attention focused squarely on where the sounds of fighting were only growing louder. The phoenix's plume now lit the sky in only swaths of red. "There's not much choice in the matter." 

He grinned once more, but there was a edge to it as sharp as his knives. "Com'on then, let's see if we can slow that bird down. Luck's on our side afterall."

***

The left wing of the mansion was barely recognizable. It looked like a train had gone through about waist height, smashing a huge hole through the first and second floor. Pieces continued to break off and fall as the mansion shook from the impacts of the fight on their other side. 

Marie-Ange's face was dark, layered in shadow that wasn't her own as she directed the image of a clockwork robot to wedge itself into a pile of collapsed wall and then stand. The rubble creaked and bits of wood and plaster crumbled around the image, but the space grew until it was large enough for a person to pass through - barely. If they were small. "I cannot make it much larger for long. Artie?" She gestured towards the hole. 

He nodded, dropping to his belly and wriggling into the hole. ohfuck, if this collapses... He wriggled forward a little further, sent a projection back, green glowing text that read "i got movement. shadows. maybe ty." He sent a second one forward, bright enough that the words glowed enough to illuminate the space and moving shadows. "it's ok. it's me and marie-ange. we got you. we'll get you out." 

Sweat dripped down Ty's face and spine as he held the rubble off their bodies. "Right on time," he gasped. "Tandy, Molly, you go first." 

Tandy was glowing brightly as her own powers kept the area light and at the same time keeping Tyrone's powers from 'eating' the others. She heard a familiar voice above. "Oh thank god. I am starting to hate small spaces." 

"Hang on you guys!" Molly said. 

The light was bright enough for Molly to try to cover her eyes with one hand, while she used the other to try to make the tiny hole the others made bigger (Without making it all fall and squish Ty and Tandy and Sue). So she tried to be as careful as she could, moving some of the rocks out of the way before poking her head out. She was covered in soot from head to toe, making her look almost like a Molly statue. 

"That sucked, like...a lot," she said. 

Billy faced the same dilemma, observing the rocks closely. It was like a game of Jenga, only more deadly. Move the wrong rock, and it could all come tumbling down. As Molly's head appeared, he moved to her side. "Hey, let's get you out of there." He tested a few of the nearby rocks, before teleporting a couple of the loose ones across the room to widen the space enough for her to climb free. 

"I got the last of these, you keep her steady," Paige said to Billy, pulling away the few remaining obstacles before leaning to support a corner as best she could. It was a little more difficult with her narrow shoulders, and she temporarily bulked them with a heavier, stone husk.

Korvus moved in behind Paige, putting a shoulder to her back and bracing his feet, letting her focus on holding the structure up while he kept her on balance. Being made of stone, she was an excellent column.

Marie-Ange was still crouched down, and the piece of wood she'd been touching kept replicating itself, providing more stable footing and propping up crumbling plaster and brick. "Were you all together? Is anyone else left?" She asked, as Molly pulled herself out. 

Dori paused and sniffed the air again, "I smell... Sue, I think?" Dori said, "It's hard to tell through all the other smells, but I swear it's her. We need to get her out!" 

Tandy crawled out of the hole and stood up, her cheek was cut but otherwise she looked to be unharmed. "Wait Sue is not with us?" Tandy looked around and back towards the rubble. "She must still be stuck in there. She was with us." Tandy started to lose her cool at the thought of her best friend trapped under the rubble. 

"I'm getting closer," Dori said, the scent was getting stronger. It was hard to track people with the scent of blood, death and everything else but she could have sworn she was right on top of Sue with how strong the smell was. Dori started picking up rubble with urgency. One piece and then another and than a hand.

A still, white hand. Dori fell to her knees and and moved a few more pieces away and bent down, both to look for a pulse and to confirm it smelled like who she thought. The scent was Sue, mixed with the cold stillness of death that seemed to be everywhere and there was no pulse.

She paused, "I... I think I found Sue," she said softly.

Paige watched Dori holding her wrist a moment longer, hoping, before stepping forward, letting her section fall. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, then bent, helping her to her feet. "We... need to get clear. I'm sorry."

Tandy stepped beside the two girls and looked down before kneeling down. She was lost for words as she reached over to take Sue's necklace. Wrapping it around her wrist before brushing her tears away from her face. Standing up again, "Just tell me what to do."

"If we can, we will get Sue out, once everyone else is safe." Marie-Ange said quietly. "But we have to get the rest of you out first. There is no sense in anyone else getting hurt."

***

The X-Men pushed through the underbrush, coming up on the rear of the mansion. They had seen Emma's team falling back in this area, but it was now the site of heaps of rubble from where the mansion had been battered and partially collapsed. The firebird on the other side of the mansion threw lurid flames in the air, underscoring their need for speed. 

Jessica's breath still came in heavy pants, her hair was caked with sweat, dirt, and a bit of blood. Gladiator's punch had messed her up, but she was thanking any and all higher powers that she hadn't met the fate of several others she had come to know on what seemed like the highway to hell. She was also thankful that Rogue was still safe, but they weren't out of the fire yet. She'd grown tired of walking and so was slowly floating along. They were attempting to get to a few more people to add to their rag tag group of misfits, but if Jessica was being honest, she was going to try and do as little independent thinking as possible and instead follow the orders of someone whose head was a bit clearer than hers. 

Logan walked with quick strides, tight with tension and hands in loose fists, as he strained his senses for any sign of life. They'd be lucky if they found anyone and they hadn't had much luck all week. His mouth was a grim line as his thoughts turned toward the grief they all were dealing with. They hadn't had time to deal with it and they still wouldn't. It wasn't over. Not yet. And there was no telling when it would be.

Wade followed slightly behind Logan as they pushed through the final line of bushes and reached the rubble that had once been the backside of the mansion. He could hear fighting, but it was distant - that didn't mean they were safe. He had a feeling they'd never be safe while the firebird flew, "Don't that just beat all," he muttered, gesturing for Pixie to come closer. "I know you can't fly," he said as they all began creeping forward again. "But can you dust people if need be?" He was hoping there wouldn't be a need, but the fires from the other side of the mansion kept flickering brighter and they had no clear picture of where Emma and her group might have retreated to. 

Pixie shuffled forward and nodded. "If the wind's in our favor, so I don't dust ourselves." She carefully beat her uninjured wing to stir a small breeze - it was tough to move one wing and not the other, and she winced. "I can help it along a bit. Do we still have those masks?" 

Amanda looked up from where she was scanning the area, looking for signs of life. "Yeah, still got 'em," she replied, jerking a thumb at the pack on her back. "Not enough for everyone, tho'." 

"Me and Logan don't need them - neither does Pinkie," Wade said. "Are there enough for everyone else?" 

"I don't think so," Amanda replied, mentally counting. "I only have five. But I can shield against her dust if I have to." Maybe. 

Wanda grimaced as she thought about it. Pixie's dust was incredibly useful - but also incredibly dangerous if turned against them. "I could also try to manipulate things so we would not get hit if it came down to it." But she was tired and they'd already discovered what happened if you mixed their powers together - it might be too dangerous.

Rogue looked at the rubble and rubbed at her face. Lord, was she ever tired. "If I have a mask, I can start movin' things around while y'all are dustin' or doin' whatever it is ya gotta do." This was said to no one in particular. "But we gotta move now if we have any luck for survivors," she added bluntly. 

Scott gingerly shuffled to a stop and looked over at the others as he leaned on a nearby rock.. "I'd be worse that useless out there right now," he allowed grudgingly. It was one thing to know he was injured but accepting he couldn't help the kids out there was another thing all together. "I can stay back here and keep an eye out see if I can spot anything coming. That'd be more useful than me getting in the way down there." 

Jean was not much help either, with the collar still making it difficult for her to concentrate, much less remain standing. Still, she managed, but barely, teetering back and forth precariously before putting her hand against a tree to steady herself. "I'll stay with Scott...obviously," she added quietly. The idea of not being able to help at the moment daunted her but she knew keeping the collar on for now was the best thing to do. She wasn't sure what she was capable of. And in the back of her mind she had a growing sense of dread. She could almost feel the other presence behind the mansion walls. But she knew that was impossible because of the collar. 

A glorious amount of ill advised pain killers were allowing Julian some measure of his powers back. He did his best not to look at Jean or Scott- telling himself that all this wasn't their fault, but it was a hard thing to do with so much loss. "What are we waiting for then? The end of the world?" 

Rogue was tired, emotionally and physically. Her accent was more pronounced and she was simply exhausted. She was easily sleeping for days when all this ended. "I ain't waitin' for all this yappin'. We have our people to save. Pixie, if ya do dust, warn me -- I'll hold my breath or something. Jess, give me a hand, girl, and let's do some work. All of y'all can come up with a plan, I ain't thinkin' no more." 

With that, Rogue broke rank and headed to the rubble, knowing Jessica would follow. 

"I'm on it." Jessica declared. She still felt like shit, but she'd be damned if she was going to let people die. She moved to follow Rogue's example, lifting the massive pieces of rubble as best she could. As she let each piece fly a short distance behind her, she tried to listen as closely as possible for any sign of breathing or a voice. Her brown eyes scanned for body parts or pieces of clothing. The slight sound of choking reached her ears after about two minutes of shifting. She moved toward its source and swiftly tore away the largest piece of rubble she could find. Her eyes trained to the ground as she continued to lift, carefully and slowly. After a few moments, a person came into view. A vaguely familiar person. 

"Rogue! I found someone!" She called. 

A coughing Gabriel looked up at her, somewhat stupefied. He ached. Everything ached. Every little muscle and every little bone ached. His legs were pins-and-needles, and he didn't think he could manage to get up at the moment, not on his own. 

The unfortunate aftermath of when a building collapsed on you so suddenly you couldn't outrun it. Maybe. He still wasn't entirely sure if that's what had happened.

"Miles," he rasped out after a second, looking around a little frantically. "Miles, we're not dead."

"Wepa," Miles lamely cheered as he pulled himself, slowly but steadily, back to his feet out from under a section of wall that Rogue pushed aside. His visions blurred and the continual blaring of his spider sense made it impossible to focus. "Where's everyone else? We had a whole squad. Johnny and Sarah, Molly..."

Wade throttled the urge to just straight up yell at both Rogue and Jessica about teammates who weren't invulnerable and how they were being reckless and endangering everyone - because that wouldn't do them any good. And it might attract a certain redheaded bitch's attention and that was kind of what he was trying to avoid. Instead, the mercenary kept his voice calm as he motioned for Logan to go ahead of them. "You're the first people we've found, but several others were located a little while ago. I think we can move forward - as a unit - to locate the Professor and coordinate from there."

Logan took up position in front of Miles and Gabriel where he'd take the brunt of anything that came their way if needed. He trusted Wade would haul the kids to safety if it came down to it. "What he said. Everyone be careful what ya do from here on out. Don't need more damage done while tryin' to help someone." No one needed more guilt on their shoulders.

Wanda drifted to join the others. She'd stayed back while the others had started to dig, knowing that out of all of them, she was least suited to finding survivors. But she'd kept herself busy scanning for trouble, ready to defend the group at their most vulnerable - helping each other. She clapped Wade on the shoulder and nodded. "Let us keep these two in the middle, yes?" she said, nodding at Miles and Gabriel. They would need the time to recover from being buried. "Rogue, Jessica, one of you at the head and the other protecting our rear. The rest of us will form between those two and around the boys."

***

 

The group stood in the shadows of the mansion, hearing the crash of battle on the other side, brushing off the New Mutants who'd fought so hard in the initial defense. Other groups were doing the same, and they had just finished celebrating the retrieval of Miles and Gabriel when they heard about Sue's death. The group fighting the Dark Phoenix was quickly crumbling, and that left them few options. 

Kurt looked exhausted, leaning hard on his tail as a makeshift crutch. "We must try to contact the others - there may be more injured", he said quietly. "And evacuate this place if we can." 

Angel winced when she heard the noises of the fight on the other side - if it could even be called a fight anymore. It sounded more like a slaughter. She tried to shake that thought off and nodded, face set. "Don't suppose there's any word from the Blackbird?" They could use the back up. But she wasn't going to hold her breath. 

"Blackbird or no Blackbird, can one of you shut up and help me out?" Cecilia didn't bother to hide her exasperation. What was currently happening put her in her element, which meant she'd be barking orders and putting her skills to use. "We just dug a group of teenagers out from under our home, and all I've got is a bag full of random supplies I grabbed on the way out. Which would be fine, except I can't even make any triage decisions until someone helps me get Johnny calmed down."

Thankfully, the firebugs had kept the worst of any electrical fires from frying the communication equipment. Which meant he could, in fact, contact the Blackbird. And maybe help calm Johnny down at the same time. Hooray for multitasking.

"Johnny," he said to the teenager in a low, reassuring voice. "Just concentrate on me." He knew what it was like to have too much information crowding his brain, and from what he knew of the young man's 'danger sense', it was probably suffering from a serious case of input overload. "Just ignore the rest of what's going on," he continued soothingly as his hands checked wires and settings. "Concentrate on your breathing - breathe in for a slow five count," he said, audibly taking a large breath in with him. "Hold for five," he continued, ticking off a five count with one hand. "And exhale," blowing out air as audibly as he'd taken it in. "Okay, keep that up. In for five, hold for five, out for five."

Connections all checked, he flicked a switch. "Blackbird, this is Cypher calling. Come in, Blackbird. Anyone there?"

"I can't. I can't." Johnny's eyes were squeezed closed and he was just this side of hyperventilating. "This is insane. We have to get out of here." His danger sense had ...stopped. Before, it had been going off for each threat before the overload kicked in. Now, there was just a steady, dull roar of panic in the back of his mind. "Something bad is coming," he muttered, trying to to concentrate on his breathing. 

"Topaz, calm him down." Kyle said, more calmly than he felt. "I got your back if anyone gives you shit." He crouched down to get to the students' eye level. "I got your back. I promise. We gotta get you guys outta here, and we can't if JayGee's freaking the hell out." He glanced at Kurt as if to say "You with me on this?" and then stood, holding an arm out to Hope. "If you think you're gonna pass out, you yell." and he prayed to God that they wouldn't have to carry Hope out of the destroyed mansion.

Topaz had to struggle to focus on what Kyle was saying. Was he telling her to drain Johnny? Really? Great. Okay. Fine. Like she didn't hate her life enough as it was. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to zero in on Johnny's mind - no easy task - and with a deep breath she pulled off the panic off of Johnny. Her mind protested with a violent throb - draining people with no shields was never a good idea - but she managed to keep herself upright, albeit waveringly.

Hope accepted the arm gratefully as she tried to pull herself together. " Thanks, Mr. Gibney..." Falling back to her old manners seemed to help and she could that on autopilot... "I should be able to manage, as long as we start out slow... Though I am not sure how much more Topaz can take." She eyed the girl worriedly. 

Johnny's breathing calmed. The terror he'd been feeling, overwhelmed by threat after threat from his danger sense lessened. It was still there - a sore muscle that he knew would hurt if he flexed it - if he thought about his danger sense but it was dulled. "I can - I can manage." He didn't care anymore. Things were bad. Things were terrifying but he didn't care. He supposed he should thank Topaz but that didn't seem so important, either. "Thanks."

Kurt moved to Topaz' side, not touching her but providing a reassuring presence and ready to catch her if she stumbled.

"All right, everyone, I think we must move while we still can."

"The people at the Blackbird need support." Doug surveyed the ragtag group. "I think I'm the one that can be spared and be the most help." It was a cold calculus, a measure of who was injured, who was combat capable, and who could do the most good where. But he knew the group needed Kurt's leadership, and Kyle's tenacity.

He gave the younger members of the group a reassuring smile, projecting as much confidence as he could muster. "Get your butts in gear, I'll see you when this is done."

Angel shuffled forward the best she could, intent on helping anyone who needed help standing - which was most of them, quite honestly. "Right. We got this. Good luck Doug."

John placed a hand on Angel’s shoulder and muttered something about lifting her up in a fireman’s carry if she didn’t stop abusing her already broken leg. He would help whoever needed help. She just needed to look after herself for one goddamn minute.

"Alright, you still doing okay, Johnny? Why don't I stay with you for bit?" Sooraya mentioned as she looked over the ragtag group. Kyle had Hope and Kurt seemed to be supporting Topaz. A quick wince stole over her face though she realized something and leaned over to Angel, asking softly: "Can you stay close as well? I think I might need to scout for a bit later on?" 

"I will take Topaz, Hope and Johnny to find Professor Xavier", Kurt said quietly. "If there is anywhere safe left, they should be there, not here."

"I'll go with. If one of them passes out or loses their shit, you're gonna need a second set of hands, and I'm no good for much else." Kyle offered. "Already cracked a couple vertebrae hauling Logan around this week, all ya'll are way lighter." 

***

Garrison wiped the blood from his face, stumbling along in the ruins of the mansion. They had tried to delay Dark Phoenix and had been thoroughly and fully repulsed by the remarkable power. It was a level that they had never seen and could barely fathom.

Jean-Phillipe moved along behind Garrison, leaning heavily on Angelo for support. He'd been throwing everything he had, and since he was still recovering from getting blown into a wall by Barrage, he'd delved deeply into his reserves of power, and was dangerously close to exceeding them and tapping himself out. He flexed his fingers - numbing in the extremities was the first sign of power overuse. But with the magnitude of what they were facing, he could rest and recharge either when it was turned back, or when he was dead.

"Je t'aime," he murmured softly in Angelo's ear. He wasn't the demonstrative sort, but he didn't want to leave things unsaid between them.

Angelo wasn't in much better shape, digging into his last strength to keep moving and fighting, and to help his boyfriend do the same. He turned to look at Jean-Phillipe without stopping, afraid if they did stop walking it would be harder to start again, and whispered back with a squeeze of his hand, "Te quiero."

"God save me from the schmoop," Jubilee muttered as she rolled her eyes at Angelo and Jean-Phillipe but she grinned when Jean-Phillipe opened his mouth to answer. "Dude, kidding, kidding. Go back to your PDA's, I'll just be over here, being bitter and grumpy."

She leaned heavily on the small branch she'd repurposed as a crutch and rubbed a hand over her face to clear away the sweat. There was no way she could deal with any kind of real fighting right now, she was almost out of snacks and that wasn't going to give her much of a boost - from now on it was her own body she'd be using to feed the beast of her powers. 

"We need to get the kids out of here, there's no way she isn't going to completely demolish this place and I don't think she'll care that they're in the way." 

"I can do evac," Jennie panted, a hand to her ribs. She was so pale that she skin was hinging on grey. "I can't do much more, if I throw something at her I can't guarantee it'll do more that give her a wedgie, she's too powerful." She swallowed, doing her best not to sway and project Calm and In Control. "I'll see if I can't find Arthur, being near him may help me." 

"I'm still durable enough," Marius pointed out, flagrantly ignoring the abrasions and full-body bruises he'd just attained. He gave Garrison a glance. "What say you to finding a few less walking wounded with which to run distraction? I can't say I particularly enjoy blunt-force trauma, but I can tank a bit more damage if I must."

"X-Men should be here by now. Jennie, Jubilee, drop back and let them know we need everyone available on the line. Marius, you and I are going to try and get around her flank. You other three, stay here, and let the other people know as they get up here what we're dealing with. If you see Logan and Wade, send them around to us."

"D'accord," Jean-Phillipe said, nodding crisply. Garrison's plan made about as much sense as could be salvaged from this disaster. And the only alternative to continuing to fight, no matter how hopeless, was to lay down and accept death. Which was not at all something he was willing to do.

North watched them leave in all his usual heavy silence, carefully rewrapping his side wound with the last of the bandages. He tested it with the heel of his hand and determined that it would hold for a few more hours.

He waved Jean-Phillipe and Angelo away when a young woman with a white streak in her hair darted by and yelled at them for assistance. Then hauled himself to his feet against the sharp pain, dropping one useless rifle by the door and using the other as a walking aid.

The spy meandered to the lower floors and replaced his makeshift crutch with Doug when he found the other man, pulling him away from the rest and towards where the pictures in his head were telling him they were needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mutants try to come together to put together a strategy to try and stop the Dark Phoenix.

The right wing of the mansion had been partially collapsed and fire was starting to lick the edges of the ruined walls. From the other side of the house they could see flares of the firebird and the sounds of combat. Obviously, the X-Men at the mansion had begun their assault, giving them time to try and pull their friends out of the rubble.

Arthur was already hard at work shifting through the rubble, still smiling. It twitched on its edges. "We'll be sure to find someone..."

He trailed off, tossing more bits of debris behind him. The other members of the rescue team worked similarly.

"Any luck?"

Adrienne was sitting on a pile of debris, head in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to dig through the remains of her home to search for dead students and friends. She couldn't even bring herself to get to her feet. Staring at the ground, she assumed Arthur's comment had been directed at someone else and didn't acknowledge it.

"Hey." Adrienne felt hands come to rest on her knees, and when she looked up, Callisto was crouched in front of her. "Still with me here?" she asked quietly. The other woman was an incredible mess: her hair was still caked with dried blood and dust, the scarred, pitted skin of her face covered with a layer of grime, streaked where tears had washed if off. "You still with me?" she asked again.

Adrienne flinched at the touch and the acknowledgement of it forced her to focus on Cal's face. "Not in the slightest," she admitted, though she sounded like she felt a little bad about it. "There's a reason I never became a firefighter, and this is it. If there weren't ruined buildings to sift through, I totally would have become one. I like suspenders. And poles." It was easier to make asinine comments than process what she was supposed to be doing.

Callisto nodded slowly. "Well, I hate to ask you to ruin a good manicure," she murmured quietly, lips giving a tiny twitch as her filthy hands found Adrienne's and wrapped around them, pulling them away from her face and toward her. "But odds are there are live kids down there. Wanna give me a hand with some rubble? I'll let you take the light end..." It was weird, 'cause Callisto was quipping right back, and that wasn't particularly unusual, and yet when she met Callisto's eyes all Adrienne saw was sadness, and along with it an outright, desperate plea. As if to emphasise this, Callisto added, in the softest of voices: "Please."

Adrienne had to laugh wryly at the manicure comment. Because despite all she'd been through with Steven and with being a resident of this place, she was certain she'd never looked worse. Any remnants of a manicure had disappeared, seemingly long ago. "Alright," she acquiesced, letting Cal pull her to her feet. "I guess if you need my help, who am I to deny you?" She wasn't holding out much hope on the odds. But if if made Cal feel better to think there were still kids alive down there, Adrienne didn't think now was a good time to say otherwise.

"Hey, over here!" Arthur called cheerfully as he squatted near what had once been an archway.

There had been just enough room beneath the frame of what was left of the arch to keep from being crushed. As the rubble shifted above, Meggan tried to edge away from the stinging rocks that cut her arm more and cautiously climbed closer to what light seeped through in its wake. She coughed when that stirred up more dust in the space, too. At the sound of voices, she called out frantically, “I'm here. I'm right down this way!”

"Shit! Um, we're coming, Meggan. Don't get hurt - anymore - because Kurt something something, I fucking suck at this, but we're going to get you out of there, okay?" Cammie said, meaning the last part. They would get whoever was left out alive.

Giving Adrienne's hands a last squeeze, Callisto turned and began nimbly trotting over the debris to where Arthur was, crouching down and picking her way across the rubble. At first she was just feeling this beam, that chunk of masonry, and it didn't seem to the naked eye as though she was actually moving anything, but then she seemed to pick a place to start and braced herself to haul a lump of debris out from around the arch.

"Don't move," she called. To the assembled people on the surface she nodding to another big-looking masonry block. "We'll need that block moved too," she suggested. "The less crap's around it the cleaner it'll be; don't wanna knock stuff down on top of her."

The blonde man moved nimbly around Callisto's heavy lifting to supplement her work all while beaming at the spot that promised to Meggan in the rubble.

Adrienne wasn't too keen on helping with the heavy lifting, but she didn't want to face Amanda later knowing that she did nothing to help her sister, so she scuttled about with Arthur and Cammie to clean up the site while Cal hauled the big stuff away. The first big block gone, Callisto moved to where the others had cleared the smaller debris around a masonry block - perhaps a lintel? - that was significantly bigger than she was. Leaning to brace her shoulder to the block, Callisto wedged her fingers in beneath it.

"'Kay, this is gonna roll down that slope when I shift it so you'd better stand up here behind me," she instructed the others, and with a mighty heave she hauled the block up and away and, as predicted, it tumbled like a log a couple of times, the ground vibrating beneath them, before coming to a sluggish halt. The lintel had, it turned out, been Meggan's saving grace; it had sheltered the space beneath the archway where she'd found refuge and helped to create the little hole where she now waited.

"Okay, come on," Cammie said, moving as close as she could without falling in herself and reaching down, "Kurt will want to know you're alright, you know?" she said, pulling the other girl out of the hole as gently as she could, "So let's get back to him."

Meggan nodded as she was pulled from the hole, grateful to see everybody. She didn’t want to take a chance of the ground crumbling beneath her at the edge unexpectedly, and moved her feet away from that spot once she regained her footing. “Thank you so much. And yeah,” she agreed. “I want to see him, too.” She needed to see that Kurt was alive in person, too, now that she had a better look at the damage…and the fact was sinking in that it wasn’t just a portion of the building that had trapped her, but the whole mansion that had come down.

Adrienne took the walkie talkie off of her belt and made sure it was on the correct frequency. "Blink, we found Meggan. She's very much alive." It made her smile a little to be able to say that. "But it's getting pretty hot around here," she added as the flames from around the ruined walls continued to creep closer and closer to them. "Could we please get an extraction for her? And possibly the rest of us?"

Teleporting in, Clarice was exhausted and running on less than fumes at this point. "Yeah," she said, instead of going over the comms. "Let's get out of here," she picked Meggan up with Adrienne's help so they could blink out. A second later, the three were gone.

Callisto nodded. "This area's clear," she said. "I can't feel any other mutants around here."

Cammie took a deep breath, "Okay, maybe now we can get to where the action is? I'm ready to kick some ass, or do we keep looking here? I just..." she couldn't keep sorting through rubble. She needed to hit something.

Arthur nodded grimly, his attention focused squarely on where the sounds of fighting were only growing louder. The phoenix's plume now lit the sky in only swaths of red. "There's not much choice in the matter." 

He grinned once more, but there was a edge to it as sharp as his knives. "Com'on then, let's see if we can slow that bird down. Luck's on our side afterall."

***

The left wing of the mansion was barely recognizable. It looked like a train had gone through about waist height, smashing a huge hole through the first and second floor. Pieces continued to break off and fall as the mansion shook from the impacts of the fight on their other side. 

Marie-Ange's face was dark, layered in shadow that wasn't her own as she directed the image of a clockwork robot to wedge itself into a pile of collapsed wall and then stand. The rubble creaked and bits of wood and plaster crumbled around the image, but the space grew until it was large enough for a person to pass through - barely. If they were small. "I cannot make it much larger for long. Artie?" She gestured towards the hole. 

He nodded, dropping to his belly and wriggling into the hole. ohfuck, if this collapses... He wriggled forward a little further, sent a projection back, green glowing text that read "i got movement. shadows. maybe ty." He sent a second one forward, bright enough that the words glowed enough to illuminate the space and moving shadows. "it's ok. it's me and marie-ange. we got you. we'll get you out." 

Sweat dripped down Ty's face and spine as he held the rubble off their bodies. "Right on time," he gasped. "Tandy, Molly, you go first." 

Tandy was glowing brightly as her own powers kept the area light and at the same time keeping Tyrone's powers from 'eating' the others. She heard a familiar voice above. "Oh thank god. I am starting to hate small spaces." 

"Hang on you guys!" Molly said. 

The light was bright enough for Molly to try to cover her eyes with one hand, while she used the other to try to make the tiny hole the others made bigger (Without making it all fall and squish Ty and Tandy and Sue). So she tried to be as careful as she could, moving some of the rocks out of the way before poking her head out. She was covered in soot from head to toe, making her look almost like a Molly statue. 

"That sucked, like...a lot," she said. 

Billy faced the same dilemma, observing the rocks closely. It was like a game of Jenga, only more deadly. Move the wrong rock, and it could all come tumbling down. As Molly's head appeared, he moved to her side. "Hey, let's get you out of there." He tested a few of the nearby rocks, before teleporting a couple of the loose ones across the room to widen the space enough for her to climb free. 

"I got the last of these, you keep her steady," Paige said to Billy, pulling away the few remaining obstacles before leaning to support a corner as best she could. It was a little more difficult with her narrow shoulders, and she temporarily bulked them with a heavier, stone husk.

Korvus moved in behind Paige, putting a shoulder to her back and bracing his feet, letting her focus on holding the structure up while he kept her on balance. Being made of stone, she was an excellent column.

Marie-Ange was still crouched down, and the piece of wood she'd been touching kept replicating itself, providing more stable footing and propping up crumbling plaster and brick. "Were you all together? Is anyone else left?" She asked, as Molly pulled herself out. 

Dori paused and sniffed the air again, "I smell... Sue, I think?" Dori said, "It's hard to tell through all the other smells, but I swear it's her. We need to get her out!" 

Tandy crawled out of the hole and stood up, her cheek was cut but otherwise she looked to be unharmed. "Wait Sue is not with us?" Tandy looked around and back towards the rubble. "She must still be stuck in there. She was with us." Tandy started to lose her cool at the thought of her best friend trapped under the rubble. 

"I'm getting closer," Dori said, the scent was getting stronger. It was hard to track people with the scent of blood, death and everything else but she could have sworn she was right on top of Sue with how strong the smell was. Dori started picking up rubble with urgency. One piece and then another and than a hand.

A still, white hand. Dori fell to her knees and and moved a few more pieces away and bent down, both to look for a pulse and to confirm it smelled like who she thought. The scent was Sue, mixed with the cold stillness of death that seemed to be everywhere and there was no pulse.

She paused, "I... I think I found Sue," she said softly.

Paige watched Dori holding her wrist a moment longer, hoping, before stepping forward, letting her section fall. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, then bent, helping her to her feet. "We... need to get clear. I'm sorry."

Tandy stepped beside the two girls and looked down before kneeling down. She was lost for words as she reached over to take Sue's necklace. Wrapping it around her wrist before brushing her tears away from her face. Standing up again, "Just tell me what to do."

"If we can, we will get Sue out, once everyone else is safe." Marie-Ange said quietly. "But we have to get the rest of you out first. There is no sense in anyone else getting hurt."

***

The X-Men pushed through the underbrush, coming up on the rear of the mansion. They had seen Emma's team falling back in this area, but it was now the site of heaps of rubble from where the mansion had been battered and partially collapsed. The firebird on the other side of the mansion threw lurid flames in the air, underscoring their need for speed. 

Jessica's breath still came in heavy pants, her hair was caked with sweat, dirt, and a bit of blood. Gladiator's punch had messed her up, but she was thanking any and all higher powers that she hadn't met the fate of several others she had come to know on what seemed like the highway to hell. She was also thankful that Rogue was still safe, but they weren't out of the fire yet. She'd grown tired of walking and so was slowly floating along. They were attempting to get to a few more people to add to their rag tag group of misfits, but if Jessica was being honest, she was going to try and do as little independent thinking as possible and instead follow the orders of someone whose head was a bit clearer than hers. 

Logan walked with quick strides, tight with tension and hands in loose fists, as he strained his senses for any sign of life. They'd be lucky if they found anyone and they hadn't had much luck all week. His mouth was a grim line as his thoughts turned toward the grief they all were dealing with. They hadn't had time to deal with it and they still wouldn't. It wasn't over. Not yet. And there was no telling when it would be.

Wade followed slightly behind Logan as they pushed through the final line of bushes and reached the rubble that had once been the backside of the mansion. He could hear fighting, but it was distant - that didn't mean they were safe. He had a feeling they'd never be safe while the firebird flew, "Don't that just beat all," he muttered, gesturing for Pixie to come closer. "I know you can't fly," he said as they all began creeping forward again. "But can you dust people if need be?" He was hoping there wouldn't be a need, but the fires from the other side of the mansion kept flickering brighter and they had no clear picture of where Emma and her group might have retreated to. 

Pixie shuffled forward and nodded. "If the wind's in our favor, so I don't dust ourselves." She carefully beat her uninjured wing to stir a small breeze - it was tough to move one wing and not the other, and she winced. "I can help it along a bit. Do we still have those masks?" 

Amanda looked up from where she was scanning the area, looking for signs of life. "Yeah, still got 'em," she replied, jerking a thumb at the pack on her back. "Not enough for everyone, tho'." 

"Me and Logan don't need them - neither does Pinkie," Wade said. "Are there enough for everyone else?" 

"I don't think so," Amanda replied, mentally counting. "I only have five. But I can shield against her dust if I have to." Maybe. 

Wanda grimaced as she thought about it. Pixie's dust was incredibly useful - but also incredibly dangerous if turned against them. "I could also try to manipulate things so we would not get hit if it came down to it." But she was tired and they'd already discovered what happened if you mixed their powers together - it might be too dangerous.

Rogue looked at the rubble and rubbed at her face. Lord, was she ever tired. "If I have a mask, I can start movin' things around while y'all are dustin' or doin' whatever it is ya gotta do." This was said to no one in particular. "But we gotta move now if we have any luck for survivors," she added bluntly. 

Scott gingerly shuffled to a stop and looked over at the others as he leaned on a nearby rock.. "I'd be worse that useless out there right now," he allowed grudgingly. It was one thing to know he was injured but accepting he couldn't help the kids out there was another thing all together. "I can stay back here and keep an eye out see if I can spot anything coming. That'd be more useful than me getting in the way down there." 

Jean was not much help either, with the collar still making it difficult for her to concentrate, much less remain standing. Still, she managed, but barely, teetering back and forth precariously before putting her hand against a tree to steady herself. "I'll stay with Scott...obviously," she added quietly. The idea of not being able to help at the moment daunted her but she knew keeping the collar on for now was the best thing to do. She wasn't sure what she was capable of. And in the back of her mind she had a growing sense of dread. She could almost feel the other presence behind the mansion walls. But she knew that was impossible because of the collar. 

A glorious amount of ill advised pain killers were allowing Julian some measure of his powers back. He did his best not to look at Jean or Scott- telling himself that all this wasn't their fault, but it was a hard thing to do with so much loss. "What are we waiting for then? The end of the world?" 

Rogue was tired, emotionally and physically. Her accent was more pronounced and she was simply exhausted. She was easily sleeping for days when all this ended. "I ain't waitin' for all this yappin'. We have our people to save. Pixie, if ya do dust, warn me -- I'll hold my breath or something. Jess, give me a hand, girl, and let's do some work. All of y'all can come up with a plan, I ain't thinkin' no more." 

With that, Rogue broke rank and headed to the rubble, knowing Jessica would follow. 

"I'm on it." Jessica declared. She still felt like shit, but she'd be damned if she was going to let people die. She moved to follow Rogue's example, lifting the massive pieces of rubble as best she could. As she let each piece fly a short distance behind her, she tried to listen as closely as possible for any sign of breathing or a voice. Her brown eyes scanned for body parts or pieces of clothing. The slight sound of choking reached her ears after about two minutes of shifting. She moved toward its source and swiftly tore away the largest piece of rubble she could find. Her eyes trained to the ground as she continued to lift, carefully and slowly. After a few moments, a person came into view. A vaguely familiar person. 

"Rogue! I found someone!" She called. 

A coughing Gabriel looked up at her, somewhat stupefied. He ached. Everything ached. Every little muscle and every little bone ached. His legs were pins-and-needles, and he didn't think he could manage to get up at the moment, not on his own. 

The unfortunate aftermath of when a building collapsed on you so suddenly you couldn't outrun it. Maybe. He still wasn't entirely sure if that's what had happened.

"Miles," he rasped out after a second, looking around a little frantically. "Miles, we're not dead."

"Wepa," Miles lamely cheered as he pulled himself, slowly but steadily, back to his feet out from under a section of wall that Rogue pushed aside. His visions blurred and the continual blaring of his spider sense made it impossible to focus. "Where's everyone else? We had a whole squad. Johnny and Sarah, Molly..."

Wade throttled the urge to just straight up yell at both Rogue and Jessica about teammates who weren't invulnerable and how they were being reckless and endangering everyone - because that wouldn't do them any good. And it might attract a certain redheaded bitch's attention and that was kind of what he was trying to avoid. Instead, the mercenary kept his voice calm as he motioned for Logan to go ahead of them. "You're the first people we've found, but several others were located a little while ago. I think we can move forward - as a unit - to locate the Professor and coordinate from there."

Logan took up position in front of Miles and Gabriel where he'd take the brunt of anything that came their way if needed. He trusted Wade would haul the kids to safety if it came down to it. "What he said. Everyone be careful what ya do from here on out. Don't need more damage done while tryin' to help someone." No one needed more guilt on their shoulders.

Wanda drifted to join the others. She'd stayed back while the others had started to dig, knowing that out of all of them, she was least suited to finding survivors. But she'd kept herself busy scanning for trouble, ready to defend the group at their most vulnerable - helping each other. She clapped Wade on the shoulder and nodded. "Let us keep these two in the middle, yes?" she said, nodding at Miles and Gabriel. They would need the time to recover from being buried. "Rogue, Jessica, one of you at the head and the other protecting our rear. The rest of us will form between those two and around the boys."

***

 

The group stood in the shadows of the mansion, hearing the crash of battle on the other side, brushing off the New Mutants who'd fought so hard in the initial defense. Other groups were doing the same, and they had just finished celebrating the retrieval of Miles and Gabriel when they heard about Sue's death. The group fighting the Dark Phoenix was quickly crumbling, and that left them few options. 

Kurt looked exhausted, leaning hard on his tail as a makeshift crutch. "We must try to contact the others - there may be more injured", he said quietly. "And evacuate this place if we can." 

Angel winced when she heard the noises of the fight on the other side - if it could even be called a fight anymore. It sounded more like a slaughter. She tried to shake that thought off and nodded, face set. "Don't suppose there's any word from the Blackbird?" They could use the back up. But she wasn't going to hold her breath. 

"Blackbird or no Blackbird, can one of you shut up and help me out?" Cecilia didn't bother to hide her exasperation. What was currently happening put her in her element, which meant she'd be barking orders and putting her skills to use. "We just dug a group of teenagers out from under our home, and all I've got is a bag full of random supplies I grabbed on the way out. Which would be fine, except I can't even make any triage decisions until someone helps me get Johnny calmed down."

Thankfully, the firebugs had kept the worst of any electrical fires from frying the communication equipment. Which meant he could, in fact, contact the Blackbird. And maybe help calm Johnny down at the same time. Hooray for multitasking.

"Johnny," he said to the teenager in a low, reassuring voice. "Just concentrate on me." He knew what it was like to have too much information crowding his brain, and from what he knew of the young man's 'danger sense', it was probably suffering from a serious case of input overload. "Just ignore the rest of what's going on," he continued soothingly as his hands checked wires and settings. "Concentrate on your breathing - breathe in for a slow five count," he said, audibly taking a large breath in with him. "Hold for five," he continued, ticking off a five count with one hand. "And exhale," blowing out air as audibly as he'd taken it in. "Okay, keep that up. In for five, hold for five, out for five."

Connections all checked, he flicked a switch. "Blackbird, this is Cypher calling. Come in, Blackbird. Anyone there?"

"I can't. I can't." Johnny's eyes were squeezed closed and he was just this side of hyperventilating. "This is insane. We have to get out of here." His danger sense had ...stopped. Before, it had been going off for each threat before the overload kicked in. Now, there was just a steady, dull roar of panic in the back of his mind. "Something bad is coming," he muttered, trying to to concentrate on his breathing. 

"Topaz, calm him down." Kyle said, more calmly than he felt. "I got your back if anyone gives you shit." He crouched down to get to the students' eye level. "I got your back. I promise. We gotta get you guys outta here, and we can't if JayGee's freaking the hell out." He glanced at Kurt as if to say "You with me on this?" and then stood, holding an arm out to Hope. "If you think you're gonna pass out, you yell." and he prayed to God that they wouldn't have to carry Hope out of the destroyed mansion.

Topaz had to struggle to focus on what Kyle was saying. Was he telling her to drain Johnny? Really? Great. Okay. Fine. Like she didn't hate her life enough as it was. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to zero in on Johnny's mind - no easy task - and with a deep breath she pulled off the panic off of Johnny. Her mind protested with a violent throb - draining people with no shields was never a good idea - but she managed to keep herself upright, albeit waveringly.

Hope accepted the arm gratefully as she tried to pull herself together. " Thanks, Mr. Gibney..." Falling back to her old manners seemed to help and she could that on autopilot... "I should be able to manage, as long as we start out slow... Though I am not sure how much more Topaz can take." She eyed the girl worriedly. 

Johnny's breathing calmed. The terror he'd been feeling, overwhelmed by threat after threat from his danger sense lessened. It was still there - a sore muscle that he knew would hurt if he flexed it - if he thought about his danger sense but it was dulled. "I can - I can manage." He didn't care anymore. Things were bad. Things were terrifying but he didn't care. He supposed he should thank Topaz but that didn't seem so important, either. "Thanks."

Kurt moved to Topaz' side, not touching her but providing a reassuring presence and ready to catch her if she stumbled.

"All right, everyone, I think we must move while we still can."

"The people at the Blackbird need support." Doug surveyed the ragtag group. "I think I'm the one that can be spared and be the most help." It was a cold calculus, a measure of who was injured, who was combat capable, and who could do the most good where. But he knew the group needed Kurt's leadership, and Kyle's tenacity.

He gave the younger members of the group a reassuring smile, projecting as much confidence as he could muster. "Get your butts in gear, I'll see you when this is done."

Angel shuffled forward the best she could, intent on helping anyone who needed help standing - which was most of them, quite honestly. "Right. We got this. Good luck Doug."

John placed a hand on Angel’s shoulder and muttered something about lifting her up in a fireman’s carry if she didn’t stop abusing her already broken leg. He would help whoever needed help. She just needed to look after herself for one goddamn minute.

"Alright, you still doing okay, Johnny? Why don't I stay with you for bit?" Sooraya mentioned as she looked over the ragtag group. Kyle had Hope and Kurt seemed to be supporting Topaz. A quick wince stole over her face though she realized something and leaned over to Angel, asking softly: "Can you stay close as well? I think I might need to scout for a bit later on?" 

"I will take Topaz, Hope and Johnny to find Professor Xavier", Kurt said quietly. "If there is anywhere safe left, they should be there, not here."

"I'll go with. If one of them passes out or loses their shit, you're gonna need a second set of hands, and I'm no good for much else." Kyle offered. "Already cracked a couple vertebrae hauling Logan around this week, all ya'll are way lighter." 

***

Garrison wiped the blood from his face, stumbling along in the ruins of the mansion. They had tried to delay Dark Phoenix and had been thoroughly and fully repulsed by the remarkable power. It was a level that they had never seen and could barely fathom.

Jean-Phillipe moved along behind Garrison, leaning heavily on Angelo for support. He'd been throwing everything he had, and since he was still recovering from getting blown into a wall by Barrage, he'd delved deeply into his reserves of power, and was dangerously close to exceeding them and tapping himself out. He flexed his fingers - numbing in the extremities was the first sign of power overuse. But with the magnitude of what they were facing, he could rest and recharge either when it was turned back, or when he was dead.

"Je t'aime," he murmured softly in Angelo's ear. He wasn't the demonstrative sort, but he didn't want to leave things unsaid between them.

Angelo wasn't in much better shape, digging into his last strength to keep moving and fighting, and to help his boyfriend do the same. He turned to look at Jean-Phillipe without stopping, afraid if they did stop walking it would be harder to start again, and whispered back with a squeeze of his hand, "Te quiero."

"God save me from the schmoop," Jubilee muttered as she rolled her eyes at Angelo and Jean-Phillipe but she grinned when Jean-Phillipe opened his mouth to answer. "Dude, kidding, kidding. Go back to your PDA's, I'll just be over here, being bitter and grumpy."

She leaned heavily on the small branch she'd repurposed as a crutch and rubbed a hand over her face to clear away the sweat. There was no way she could deal with any kind of real fighting right now, she was almost out of snacks and that wasn't going to give her much of a boost - from now on it was her own body she'd be using to feed the beast of her powers. 

"We need to get the kids out of here, there's no way she isn't going to completely demolish this place and I don't think she'll care that they're in the way." 

"I can do evac," Jennie panted, a hand to her ribs. She was so pale that she skin was hinging on grey. "I can't do much more, if I throw something at her I can't guarantee it'll do more that give her a wedgie, she's too powerful." She swallowed, doing her best not to sway and project Calm and In Control. "I'll see if I can't find Arthur, being near him may help me." 

"I'm still durable enough," Marius pointed out, flagrantly ignoring the abrasions and full-body bruises he'd just attained. He gave Garrison a glance. "What say you to finding a few less walking wounded with which to run distraction? I can't say I particularly enjoy blunt-force trauma, but I can tank a bit more damage if I must."

"X-Men should be here by now. Jennie, Jubilee, drop back and let them know we need everyone available on the line. Marius, you and I are going to try and get around her flank. You other three, stay here, and let the other people know as they get up here what we're dealing with. If you see Logan and Wade, send them around to us."

"D'accord," Jean-Phillipe said, nodding crisply. Garrison's plan made about as much sense as could be salvaged from this disaster. And the only alternative to continuing to fight, no matter how hopeless, was to lay down and accept death. Which was not at all something he was willing to do.

North watched them leave in all his usual heavy silence, carefully rewrapping his side wound with the last of the bandages. He tested it with the heel of his hand and determined that it would hold for a few more hours.

He waved Jean-Phillipe and Angelo away when a young woman with a white streak in her hair darted by and yelled at them for assistance. Then hauled himself to his feet against the sharp pain, dropping one useless rifle by the door and using the other as a walking aid.

The spy meandered to the lower floors and replaced his makeshift crutch with Doug when he found the other man, pulling him away from the rest and towards where the pictures in his head were telling him they were needed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the momentary respite, the teams launch a second attack. The Dark Phoenix lashes out telekinetically, but a combination of Amanda, Cecilia and Billy slam shields up to allow others to get close.

They had been regrouping, but the sheer power of the Dark Phoenix's assault was battering the mansion. Any chance of a counter attack was being eroded away from the telekinetic storm that washed over them.

"Fuck this for a game of soldiers!" Amanda was exhausted, running on magical fumes and sheer bloody-mindedness by now, but she was buggered if she was going to lose anyone else. Especially to a crazy Jean Grey with a God complex. "Bil- Wiccan! Cece! Get over here, we're needed!" she yelled over the sounds of what was left of the building being torn apart, chunk by chunk. From where she was, she could see the Dark Phoenix, her face almost serene within the flames of the firebird. Time to wipe the smug off her face. "We need to block some of this fucking TK so the rest can take her on!"

"Give me a second." Cecilia shouted back, her shield having already taken shape around her. Everything ached. The other her's failed pseudo-dissection attempt at left her totally spent, and what recovery time she'd managed to squeezed in barely felt like enough. And now she was taking orders from Amanda, who was apparently taking charge. Which was far from reassuring.

Still, she knew the other woman had a point so she moved toward her. "I've got to w—oh Jesus Christ!" A brick flew toward her face, and she ducked to avoid its impact. Her heart was pounding. "This fucking thing," she muttered. "Stupid fucking bird."

Billy looked across the room--or what was left of it, at least. The swirling debris made it difficult to even see Amanda, let alone find a clear path toward her. He began a low chant that caused him to wink out of sight, appearing a moment later at Amanda's side. A square of plasterboard flew their way, but he smacked it aside with his staff, sending a cloud of dust into the wind. "Any ideas?" 

"Extra credit work," Amanda replied. She clapped her hands together, her shielding spell appearing to form a small wall in front of the three of them. "Billy, I know you haven't done this before, but I'm going to need you to learn on the job - I need you to create a shield like this." 

Billy studied the shield for a brief moment, trying to focus as much as the storm around him allowed. "Ok," he said quietly, extending one arm, palm facing outward. " _I want a shield. I want a shield_." As he chanted, his hand began to glow before a light streamed from his hand, forming a shimmering blue circle in front of him. A small, forced smile formed on his face, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the disk, focusing all his attention on keeping it alive and steady.

"Good. Now, we're going to have to cover as much area as we can for as long as we can, so we're going to do layers. Me and Cece, and then you overlaying ours to fill in any gaps. You got that? And if you get stuck, I've got a song that'll help with the chanting thing." Amanda gave Billy a quick pat on the shoulder, before turning to Cecilia. "All right, doc, your turn."

Cecilia stared at Amanda like the witch was an idiot. "You have got to be kidding me." It was enough that she hadn't blanched when Billy had started his magical mojo. "I don't channel the Force, Amanda. What you see is kind of what you get." The translucent bubble that had formed around her body expanded in size ever-so-slightly. "I don't have any wizardry scrolls in my back pocket."

Amanda repressed the urge to roll her eyes. "You have a forcefield, Doc. It's about time you learned to use it. No magic, just plain old fashioned visualisation." The witch raised her hand, palms outward, and moved them further apart, arms opening up in almost a welcoming gesture. The flickering energy of the shielding spell moved with her, until the wall was twice the height and width it had been. "You've got it stuck in your head that you can't change the size of that bubble of yours. I'm betting lives on you being able to get out of that mindset."

"Yes, thank you, well aware that I have power beyond my wildest dreams, thanks." If her training with Scott hadn't driven that point in, the lecture from different-Cecilia certainly brought it home. So, while she appreciated Amanda's sense of urgency, Cecilia didn't think her, uh, charming way of speaking, was particularly necessary. Life or death, or not.

The doctor set her jaw, partly in determination and partly to resist the urge to keep firing back. Her eyes closed for a second, and she tried to visualize her shield expanding rapidly, quickly enough that it'd catch Sefton by surprise and knock her over. After a brief moment, her eyes fluttered open, and she noted with some satisfaction that the dome around her had grown. "Well, okay." She glanced over at a still-standing Amanda, trying not to look as smug as she felt. "Eh. Close enough."

Amanda suddenly grinned despite herself. "Whatever works for you, Doc." She indicated the firebird visible through the destroyed walls. "You want to be pissed off, though, how about aiming it at her?"

"RIght. That." Cecilia followed her gesture. "So, have we got a plan beyond human shield, or...?"

A spike of telekinesis hit Billy's small shield, invisible save for the flash of light as energy hit energy, leaving his disk brighter than before. "Priori incantatem" Billy's eyes lit up as he observed the reaction. "Power meets power." He gestured toward Cecilia, and his small shield flew toward her, leaving a transparent blue shimmer in its wake. Their shields connected, bounced, but meshed, and he step away from them, stretching the energy as he moved . It wasn't as bright, probably not as powerful, but he glanced toward Amanda, looking for approval or further direction.

Amanda nodded and turned her attention back to her own shielding spell. "Now it's time for the heavy hitters to do their thing," she said. "We three give them cover, they do what they can to shut her down."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Around them, energy is sleeting through the sky, opening up rents in the universe. Wanda grabs North and Doug and begins pulsing energy through him, using her powers to hold the rents closed. Strange appears at her elbow, adding strength but they are quickly failing.

In the storm of telekinetic assaults and the firebird, it was easy to miss the thin red strips that were appearing in the sky. The clouds around them were turning dark and as the lines grew, they twisted the air around them. The view was ominous enough, but what it meant underneath was entirely worse.

"No. Oh no, no, no." Wanda's whispered words were torn from her by the savage wind the battle around them was whipping up. She shoved her hair away from her face as she stared up at the sky. She didn't even have to look with her abilities - she could see straight through the bigger tears, into ... she flinched from the sight. Whatever the outcome of the other fight, Wanda knew the rents would keep coming. Her powers flared and she slammed them towards the sky, reaching for the red, ugly scars with everything she had.

It wasn't enough. She could barely feel the chaos that drove them from where she was. She spread her hands and tried again, slamming pure energy against the nearest hole but it barely flickered.

Wanda cursed loudly and bitterly in several languages, hands clenched tightly at her side, as she stared into the darkness that was creeping into their world.

"What is going on?" Someone interrupted her mid-curse from a few paces behind her. North was peering up at the sky, bloodied and exhausted, looking older than his fifty years of age as held himself up as best as he could with Doug's help. 

"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour," Doug murmured as he put his shoulder under North's arm. Not that there was anything like silence around them, but there was definitely a sense that the end was well and truly nigh.

She stared at them for a moment, fighting the desire to sink to the ground and simply wait it out. The end was coming faster than they could stop it and ... her thoughts paused. Wanda needed more agility, more speed, more power and she stared at the men in front of her as an idea slowly formed. Wanda gently touched a ring that she bore around her thumb and caressed it, whispering a name along with a phrase in words so ancient that only Doug would have known what they meant.

A hand touched her shoulder. "You called?" Strange's voice was soft, but intense, and his eyes reflected the horror in the skies. "I would ask if you needed help, but it would redundant. I take it you have a plan? Possibly a completely insane one?"

The slight shift in energy behind her as Stephen made his appearance should have been buried under onslaught that was the world breaking but Wanda felt it and smiled as she turned. "Insane and possibly completely improbable, my love," Wanda said, taking a few precious moments to kiss him. She left a hand on his chest as she turned to Doug and North. "And probably painful. Our universe is being torn to pieces - what you see up in the sky is the result of that. I could potentially repair them by using my chaos powers but I am not powerful enough. But maybe with the four of us, I might be."

She took a deep breath. "I know magic well enough and Stephen well enough to know there should be a spell that will allow our energies to be brought together, to give me that boost I need to reach what is broken. All mutant powers generate energy. But it is not just that." Wanda turned towards the younger man. "Douglas, your pattern recognition and North, your precognition, would also let me see where I need to reach in all that swirling matter. But I doubt it will be easy or painless..."

Wanda gave them a small, tired smile. "But when have we ever let that stop us? Are you both willing to try?"

"Pete always told me that he wanted the moon on a stick, and yesterday." Doug smiled wryly in the face of the terrible events going on around them. "Since when have I let a little thing like difficult and painful get in the way of doing the job?" Wanda had believed in him, at a time when he hadn't even believed in himself. For that, he would follow her to the very gates of hell. "I'm in."

North merely nudged his companion into walking the both of them closer to the couple, a grave look on his face as he offered his colleague a hand in silent agreement.

Wanda did not need more than that to know that she had her colleagues’ immediate and complete support for whatever harebrained plan she had, dangerous or otherwise. For someone whose instincts and training were finely attuned towards survival, it was… immense.

But they had already lost too many comrades from their tight circle of risk-takers. 

Wanda slipped her hand into North's and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She squeezed it tight before offering Doug her other one. All those years together - the constant struggle, near death experiences and the quieter, normal aspects of being friends and teammates - had led them to this very moment. And if they survived what they were about to do, if they survived any of this, Wanda would never forget it.

She glanced over her shoulder and gave Stephen a small smile. "By the way, darling, please tell me you can actually do what I just said?"

Strange's expression was grave, but he nodded and gave her just the hint of a sad smile - there was no stepping back from this endeavour of theirs. "It will be difficult, but it is possible," he said, slipping into "professor mode" as he talked. "There is a spell, used by magic users to combine their energies and their skills for great undertakings. It's called a soul gathering. You are not mages, but the principle is the same." He moved to stand behind Wanda, hands on her shoulders. "Douglas, if you could stand on my right side and place your hand on my shoulder? And Mr. North, the same on my left? Excellent. Now, you two join hands, so Wanda is in the centre of a very small circle... Yes, that's it. Perfect."

The mage took a breath, preparing his mind for the task ahead. Then, he looked from Doug to North and gave another one of those small, quirky smiles of his. "This may feel... strange," he said, and before anyone could respond, he unleashed the spell. 

"Eh, I've done this before." Doug tried for blase, not quite hitting the mark. But he was no stranger to multi-person melds, when they had tried to get through to Xorn, and again in Genosha... The spell took hold, and Doug realized this was different - deeper in a way. Instead of just thoughts and feelings, this was...well, Strange -had- called it a soul gathering, and he did feel connected to the others at that level. His analytical brain took to parsing the information coming across from the others, and he took an idle moment to wonder what they might be receiving from him.

North inhaled deeply, sharply, as he felt something inside of him shift. His powers kicked on immediately and of its own violition as blue irises receded behind white film and his head lolled backwards. Strange were the ways of magic indeed, and David was reminded why he had always made it a point to stay as far away from the supernatural as possible.

Now, though, he gritted his teeth against the uncomfortable sensation of having... things (people?) (souls?) close to him and connected in an unnamable way, pressed up against one another until it was impossible to tell where one began and the other ended. 

Visions began to pick up in his mind's eye, gaining speed as Wanda instinctively began to get the hang of it. North could only marvel at how clear and easily understood they were with Doug's ability to analyse and pick apart each one with amazing deftness. 

Then the pain began and oh, how it _hurt_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first team moves in, pushing against Dark Phoenix' TK shield.

The idea was simple; read the telekinetic shield that the Dark Phoenix was hiding behind and find a weakness. Use that weakness to break through, shut her down and go for pancakes. The last part might have been over-optimistic, but it was still the plan. Julian, Jean-Phillipe and Marie were ready to punch through at the spot indicated, waiting for Adrienne's sign. 

Glad that the Dark Phoenix appeared to be ignoring them, Adrienne studied the telekinetic shield from behind the cover of some rubble, trying to figure out the best angle from which to approach it. She also took a moment to ponder whether she could actually Read the thing in the first place, what with it being made of energy or whatever instead of being a traditional object. But she tried to push the thought from her head. If she couldn't Read it, things might get very bad for them. And since it was too late for her to get the hell out of here and try to save herself, this had to work. 

She crept towards the shield on her hands and knees, weapons holstered. There was no point in holding on to them. She couldn't fire at the shield anyway. The bubble encircling the Dark Phoenix was shimmering with energy, with the firebird's flames licking at it in places. Wincing in anticipation, she reached out a hand and touched the shield. Her brain registered pain. A familiar kind of pain. She'd felt it in Genosha when she'd burned her hands. Her hand was burning! 

"Owowowow! Shit!" She pulled her hand away, staring at it in horror, anticipating the burns she'd be seeing. But there was nothing. Her hand looked the same as it always did. "What the fuck?" 

There was no burn. It was in her head. The shield was making her think it could burn her. "Son of a bitch!" Angry at being duped by the shield, Adrienne stuck her hand back on it and scanned its history and composition, trying to ignore the sensation running through her head of searing pain in her hand. It was blissful relief when she could pull it back from the shield, holding it in her other hand to convince herself that it wasn't injured in any way as she scrambled back to the others. 

"I saw it," she told them eagerly, out of breath with excitement. She was reminded of the dragon scene from the Hobbit movie, where one scale was missing. In this case, it was just a tiny point where the shield was weaker than the rest, but it might be enough to get through. 

For a moment she considered relaying the spot's whereabouts via math equation, but decided against it, time being of the essence and all. "Right there. That's the spot," she indicated to the group, pointing. 

"Good job," Rogue said idly, looking at the spot. She gave a testing punch and was pleased to see a rippling of the shield. Pulling back, she gave it all she had, punching through the shield, and allowing them access in. 

Similar to Adrienne, she felt a sharp burning sensation but there were no physical burn marks. 

Rogue would be happy when all this psychic mind crap would be done with. 

Be careful", Angelo said warningly, hanging back a little from the shield while it was still up at all. "TK backlash can hit really, really hard at times like this." 

The blow caused the shield to flare brightly and whips of telekinesis flung out. Angel and Dori were knocked from their feet as backlash slapped them down. Along the washes on energy in the shield, there was a sudden opening, as if the shield had partially melted, leaving the way clear to Dark Phoenix. 

Rogue wasn't going to waste this opportunity. Stripping her gloves, she rushed in, hoping the breach of the shield would last long enough. 

With both hands, Rogue touched the Dark Phoenix and wondered a few seconds too late why it all seemed to work on her favour. 

Flashes of memories and thoughts burned through her mind. Other Jeans, other Rogues, other lives passed through her brain. Lifetimes were lived and lost and the accompanying emotions were overwhelming. There was no space in her brain for anything, and she could actually feel her permanent shadows also in pain from the invading shades. 

With a scream, Rogue felt solid energy pulse out of her body in shockwaves, but she couldn't let go. Her hands felt like they were on fire and had fused to the body. 

Everything happened all at once, energy seemed to blast outward from Rogue and the Dark Phoenix, his friend's scream vaguely registering in his mind before the lines of force around them seemed to buckle inward. Julian had only a moment to think, "Not again," before the force rapidly expanded in a massive explosion. Waves of energy emanated from the Dark Phoenix, sending Julian and his compatriots tumbling away from the flash-point, their attempt utterly unsuccessful. 

When he finally came to rest, Julian could tell he was somewhere in the forest, everything hurt- his arm was most certainly broken, as was his leg...but his chest and abdomen hurt more than the rest. Looking down, he could see why, as what looked to be a combination of wooden branches and metal shrapnel emerged from several places in his torso. Trying to take a breath he found himself unable, two branches were almost certainly through his lungs. The fact that the debris hadn't skewered his heart was a small, ironic mercy as he could feel his lungs filling with blood. This was it- the end of Julian Keller. Far away the sound of battle raged, but here, things seemed almost peaceful as night was falling quickly around him. He wondered, briefly, if he'd see Cassandra again as the darkness closed in. 

Doreen and Monkey Joe were knocked back hard by the blast. For a moment Dori just laid where she was. Normally MJ came over to prod her up but there was nothing. She sniffed the air and turned her head towards where MJ's scent was coming from. Her eyes widened, MJ laid on some rubble his back at an odd angle, eerily still. It felt like her heart stopped. Dori didn't have many friends before the mansion and Monkey Joe had been the one constant that had kept her going. He couldn't be...

Doreen scrambled to her hands and knees and crawled over, picking up her friend with shaking hands. There was no mistaking the stillness of death.

"No! No no no! NOOO!" Dori screamed, her throat almost raw, "Wake up, come on, Monkey Joe, wake up! I'll give you anything, just wake up! All the nutella I can buy, anything, please, wake up. Please?!" she sobbed, holding the small squirrel to her chest, tears blurring her vision.

"Wake up. Please wake up."

Adrienne taken cover when she heard Angelo's warning. She had no ability to fight up close anyway, and with so many of her own comrades planning to get near the Dark Phoenix, she wasn't going to try shooting it, either. Her part in this assault was over, so she had taken cover when the explosive waves scattered the party, curling up into a ball to avoid flying debris and shrapnel that accompanied the rippling pulses of energy. 

She tried to scream when she watched Julian blasted into the woods, but no sound came out of her mouth as, with wide eyes, she tracked his flight and the sickening way he landed. She thought of going to find him, to try and help him. Turning away so she could focus on a route out towards him, however, her gaze was next drawn to Rogue and the Dark Phoenix just in time to see Rogue collapse. The psychometrist blinked a few times, waiting for Rogue to get back up. When it didn't happen, she found herself, against her better judgment, crawling forward towards her friend. "Rogue? Rogue? You better not be dead or I'm gonna be really pissed off, Swan." 

Peeking out from behind some rubble next to Rogue, Adrienne let out a happy squeal to see Rogue's chest rise and fall weakly. "She's alive!" 

"Je suis vivant aussi," Jean-Phillipe groaned from a small distance away from Adrienne and Rogue. He had also been sent tumbling by the backlash from Rogue's interaction with the Dark Phoenix, and bludgeoned heavily by pieces of debris. He attempted to lever himself up onto his hands and knees, but everything seemed to tilt alarmingly in his vision as he was hit by a massive bout of vertigo, and slumped to the ground bonelessly, still breathing but clearly unconscious. 

Angel had already been overbalanced as it was - the cast bound around her leg was making it hard to stay upright, and the blast threw her off completely. She hit the ground hard, the cast at least anchoring her so she didn't roll much, but she certainly wasn't moving any time soon. Her neck felt strangely warm, and if she'd been able to bend her head at odd angles she would have seen the red staining the heavy bandages wrapped around the wound. "Well shit," was all she managed to mutter before she passed out.

"Told you so", Angelo muttered, getting up gingerly with his left wrist bent in a way wrists weren't designed to bend from where he'd landed hard on it, but ignoring that to run to Jean-Philippe. After establishing he was still breathing, and putting him quickly into the recovery position, he looked around. "...where's Keller?"

"He... I saw him... he was blasted into the woods," Adrienne answered, frowning as she suddenly remembered her original plan to go check on Julian. She was copying Angelo's lead of putting Rogue in the recovery position, brushing the hair back from her friend's face with an uncharacteristically tender hand. "He landed in the trees, I think. I think that's where he landed. Should we go find him?" She didn't want to leave Rogue, but wanted to know whether Julian was still alive. Tandy would want to know. 

"Yeah", Angelo said quietly. "No one gets left behind." _If they're still alive._


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People go in to pull back the survivours. Some don't make it.

They watched as the Dark Phoenix discarded Marie like an after-thought. The assault had failed, piercing the forcefield but failing to gain any ground as her telekinesis was used to smash X-Men to the ground. They lay defenceless, just waiting to be finished off.

Callisto's sharp gaze scanned the scene before her, pulse still racing in her throat. Her whole body felt numb as she took it in, her skin tingling, a strange buzzing in her head that wouldn't go away. What now? You're still here. You can't just... stop. So what now?

"Survivors," she said eventually, hoarsely, starting forward across the debris-strewn ruins of the Mansion. "Get people out."

Kyle pulled himself up, panting and shaking his head back and forth like a stunned dog. "She's right. We grab people and get the fuck out." He kept shaking his head, trying to clear his ringing ears but it wasn't doing much good. 

"I'll go far." Korvus said before deftly bounding over some rubble. He was one of the stronger and more mobile X-men; if they needed to exit quickly he should be using that advantage.

"I don't know who is gonna be able to get out under their own power." Kyle said. "We get whoever we can, and..." He'd seen Dori hit the ground hard but wasn't sure where she was now. "and... and we get out."

Callisto reached Angelo first, hauling him to his feet and supporting him for a few steps, though he soon gathered himself together and began to scramble unaided across the rubble.

It wasn't much good trying to follow smells, everything smelled equally of blood and burned meat. Kyle almost stumbled over Angel, half buried under a piece of wooden floor, rather than finding her. He dropped to pull the debris off her - and then almost let it fall as a bushy brown tail popped out from under it. 

It was clear how often Dori and Kyle had trained together, because as soon as he pulled the wood away, she pulled herself up out of the rubble and immediately moved to get under Angel's shoulders and put pressure on her bleeding wounds. Together, they got the red-head up and clear of the destruction.

Glancing around, her senses ringing too hard for her mutant 'sense' to really work, Callisto's eyes eventually alit on the slightest movement off to one side, between her and Korvus. He seemed to have spotted it at the same time as her, the pair moving toward one another. A streak of white hair in the dark confirmed that it was Rogue - the movement could only have been her breathing though for as they arrived it became clear that she was barely conscious, if at all, her breathing laboured, her skin pale. Her skin...

"Careful, her gloves are off," Callisto muttered, though Korvus had already noticed and was moving with care as he checked her injuries.

Then she felt it. The tiny vibrations in the ground beneath her. The singing in her ears growing closer. The Dark Phoenix's attention might have been momentarily elsewhere, but she wasn't done with them.

Callisto stepped back from Rogue as Korvus lifted her into his arms. "We need to move." They all felt the ground vibrate this time, and as they began their retreat after Kyle and the others, debris began to lift into the air around them, twisted metal supports, masonry blocks, lumps of old wooden beam. They were just rotating gently in the air, for now, taunting them.

Eyes scanning the vicinity, Callisto soon seemed to have seen what she needed, and she indicated their path of retreat to Korvus with a tip of her chin. "Go," she said, and then again, when it seemed like he might speak, "Go, I'm right behind you."

Following on behind him, Callisto moved over to where she'd seen what she needed, a massive hulking sheet of internal blast-door that had been burst and twisted, one side a roughly serrated edge, the other still attached to the metal beam that had framed it - easily a ton and change in weight. As the debris beneath her feet continued its ominous vibrations she pulled the shard free from the wreckage, her weary muscles screaming in protest as she hauled it up from the ground.

She could almost feel her attention shifting back to them, could almost feel the charge in the air as the energy built up around the asteroid field of floating debris that lay between her and the Dark Phoenix.

The others scrambled across the wreckage as the debris finally made its move - suddenly, picking up momentum what should have been impossibly quickly, almost a blur in the air as they flew toward the retreating mutants. With a final almighty heave, Callisto lifted the shard and planted her feet, barely having time to put her shoulder to it before the onslaught hit.

It hit her like a truck, the noise of stone and metal meeting metal horrendous, deafening, the air drying and burning her lungs as the energy of the impact engulfed her. She could feel the shard itself vibrating, now, the metal heating and twisting in her grip, her burn-scarred skin blistering anew, and it wasn't a shield any more but yet another weapon, another object under the Dark Phoenix's control, and it would surely only be seconds before she used it.

Callisto closed her eyes.

 

_"They're useless."_

_The air was thick with moisture, with the smell of chlorophyll and compost, and Callisto felt the heat like a wave as she entered._

_"Hey, you in there, weathergirl? I know you're in there. I can't run these classes; they're no good, they're just gonna hurt themselves."_

_"That's where you come in," came the disembodied voice, floating in from behind a particularly enthusiastic fern. "To show them how not to. That's a teacher's job."_

_"I'm not-..." Callisto moved around the fern, but Ororo had already begun walking down the row away from her, forcing her to trot on after her like a particularly large, skinny puppy. "I'm not a teacher," she insisted, "that's what I've been trying to tell you - I don't know what to show them first, I don't know how they should... stand or hold themselves or whatever, my body just does stuff, I don't know how it does it."_

_"Then that's the first step. Learn how it does it, and then teach them. I know you're capable, Callisto. I've seen you with them. You want them to be safe, don't you?"_

_"That's-..." Callisto stopped short when Ororo turned suddenly, and they were face to face, and she felt herself shrink back slightly under the other woman's steady gaze. "That's all I want," she said. "That's why I'm here. But-"_

_"Then keep them safe. I know you can. I have faith in you."_

 

_Keep them safe._

Angelo had seen Callisto floored by a thunder god. He had seen her engulfed in flames and keep fighting. He had seen her back break.

What he saw as he looked back then, he knew there was no coming back from.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark Phoenix ups the ante, providing a lethal response to distraction.

Callisto's death was stark and vicious; the attack of someone angry at anyone daring to try and challenge them. X-Men were still falling in range of the Dark Phoenix. Jean's younger doppelganger seemed to take an element of fierce joy in hurting others, looking to continue her thrashing of the team. 

"Jubilee, Cammie", Kurt said with a wary eye on where the Dark Phoenix was and whether her attention was on them. "Try to gather the wounded together, I will evacuate as many of them as I can at a time." 

Jubilee had already started pulling some of the more badly injured students into a circle, counting them off as she went. "Just how many can you take at a time, Kurt?" 

It was a sign of just how serious their position was that she'd forgone all attempts at lighthearted banter or nicknames. She just couldn't bring herself to pretend anymore, not after everything and now this. 

"Two", he said simply, moving to take the first of them. "Perhaps three, if one is very small." 

Times were bad if Cammie was helping treat injured. Generally she stayed as far away from hurt and recovering people as possible in case she accidentally made things worse. Blood poisoning could be treated later, however. Death? Death couldn't. And in her opinion there had been far too much death already. Cammie was already being uncharacteristically quiet, keeping her arms folded over her chest. Kurt was one of the closest things she felt she had to real family outside her adoptive parents and as such she had been following him around when she could, trying not to look like a lost puppy. 

"Yeah, well... don't... don't hurt yourself trying to do it, Kurt, okay? Don't..." Cammie trailed off, not finishing the sentence. 

Kurt paused, looking over at her, then abruptly stopped what he was doing and dashed over to give her a quick hug. "I know my limits, little sister. I will be fine." 

And then it was back to his planned passengers, with no time to waste. 

Close by, Jennie and Arthur were pooling all of their luck to shield the wounded. Discs flew in concert with knives at oncoming alternative attackers. Arthur had given up on smiling long ago, and... he blinked as he patted himself down, tucking into a side aerial to avoid and incoming energy blast. A cartwheel carried him past Jennie. 

"All out," he commented while using his momentum to scissor his legs around the of one of doppelganger's waists to bring them both to the floor. 

"Stick by me," Jennie panted. "I might be able to absorb your ambient luck and use it as a boost, just keep the bad guys off me," Jennie was sweating, shaking, and barely upright. But she burned with fierce determination, so much so that there was slight sheen of white to her skin, and her eyes, unbeknownst to her, burned red. 

Miles had no idea how he'd gotten over here. Everything moved so fast since the arrival of the crazy woman on fire and the collapse of the mansion. Maybe it was fate that had brought him here with these X-Men who were risking their lives to save the injured. Whatever it was, he fell easily into the role of rescuer, and he dug through the rubble to help the trapped escape. 

"Mister Sefton! Over here" he called, helping a kid even younger than him get to his feet. 

"Miles?" Kurt's head snapped in that direction as he returned from taking his first two passengers as far away as he could, and he teleported immediately to Miles' side to ask the younger boy, "Are you hurt?" 

"Kurt, get them out of here, get them all out of here NOW" 

Jubilee shot a blast upward as the Firebird as she turned her attention on them, pushing herself in front of Kurt and the kids. 

He tried, grabbing for Miles and the boy to remove them from the scene - but the Firebird had them in her sights, and he just wasn't quite fast enough as she flung a telekinetic blast in their direction, disrupting his teleport. 

It happened too quickly for Miles to warn Kurt of the incoming attack. Miles's spider sense was almost deafening as the blast tore him from Kurt's arms. He landed hard on his side and heard something crack. A searing pain greater than anything he'd ever felt before suggested that he'd probably broken his left arm. He groaned and summoned every bit of his superhuman resilience to get himself back to his feet, but nearly fell back down when he caught sight of the other kid's blank, unmoving, lifeless eyes staring at him. 

From behind them, there was a sound like heavy grinding and the earth was shaking. Out of the rubble rose several cars and trucks, pulled out of the ruined mansion garage. They had quite a fleet of vehicles and now Dark Phoenix was pulling them out one by one, letting them hover ominously as she worked. As the last one rose, she smiled and moved her hand. The vehicles, in one motion, came flying at them; tons of steel moving as fast as if they were been driven, descending on them. 

For the fraction of a second, the world beat in time to Jennie's heart. She couldn't hear anything but the breath in her ears, and when she turned she could see the look on Arthur's face, sure it mirrored her own. 

She had done well, probability was stretched thin and trembling, but it held. She had learned enough by now that it would not break until she pushed it hard enough to snap. 

In that instant, that tiny moment in-between, Jennie looked at the man who had not so long ago asked what being a mutant meant, and her own reassurances it that it was strange and rewarding in it's own way, and felt guilt and shame at her own hollow promises. 

They were going to die. 

Perhaps, this is why she reached out and pulled him towards her, hugging him against her. If she was going to die, she would die on her feet. On her own terms. And she would protect her charges until her very last heartbeat. She felt the swirl of luck that poured out of Arthur, part of his ambient mutation, and she pulled it forward, mixing it with chaos and with a final shuddering breath she pushed out. 

And in a great crackle of white and red energy, probability exploded. 

Jubilee had always assumed her death would be a quiet thing, somewhere in a back alley when she'd misstep or made one too many insane plays and luck ran out. But she knew what she was about to do had a good chance of killing her. She did it anyway, sometimes you had no real choice and without C4 to give her powers a little help she was going to have to rely on her own body to fuel what would need to be some hellishly big explosions. 

"Camster, you're gonna have to pull me out if I'm alive, okay?" 

A multitude of sparks spread out from Jubilee's body - growing bigger as they moved away from her and toward the vehicles currently headed toward them. She fed every last ounce of energy and power she had ever been able to summon into them and then let them go in an explosion of sound, light and heat. She could only hope she'd done enough as darkness spread it's way across her vision and she collapsed. 

"God damnit, Jubby, if you're dead I'm going to fucking kill you!" Cammie said, rushing over to check on her friend, after she strangled Jubilee for this stunt then she could go check on Kurt. A quick check did confirm that the idiot was indeed alive, but out cold. Cammie grabbed her under the arms and started to pull her friend to safety. 

"You're such a fucking dipshit, Jubby, you know that?" she grumbled. 

What Jennie had done made sure most of her charges were safe, as vehicles collided with each other mid-air, sending them spinning off out of their trajectory and away from the injured they'd been meant to hit - and, in at least two cases, parts of the walls collapsed at just the right moment to bear a car or a truck beneath them to the ground. 

One of the trucks, however, was still coming directly at Kurt where he lay unconscious. 

"MISTER SEFTON!" Miles was on auto-pilot. He'd already seen too many people murdered by this witch and he couldn't let Kurt be the next victim. Miles made a great leap to get in the way of the oncoming pickup that had been so easily flung towards him. Broken arm be damned, he could catch it and save him. True Spider-Man heroics, just like when he'd saved both Mary Jane and the gondola full of people from Green Goblin's dilemma. If Peter Parker were real, he'd be proud. 

But conviction wasn't enough. The truck had too much momentum for even a super-strong mutant to stop and everything went black. 

Longshot's eyes during all of this, one bathing Jennie's face in a swath of golden light, were wide and locked upon the girl who held him. He'd only known he was a mutant for a month, but this was the first time he could feel his power in action as she sucked every last ounce of good luck from the surrounding area and weaponized it outward. Yet the more she drew, the more reality buckled to give Arthur more -- the ground started to boil as multiple earthquakes were coaxed, the weather overhead became of nimbus of opposing weather patterns, and any tiny tears and imperfections in any remaining alternate's clothing hobbled their movement as the spinning cars finished their grim work and equalized the playing field. 

Arthur heard Miles's scream and the sickening crunch as squealing metal broadcasted his sacrifice. The blonde man shook Jennie, "Com'on, snap out of it. We did good. You did good." 

"I--" Jennie coughed, her nose gushing with blood. She could barely stand, and she gripped Arthur's shirt. The lucksnap had taken what she had left, and the edges of her vision were threatening with grey. "Help me," she said, coughing. "We can--" 

Kurt moved, waking at first gradually until yellow eyes snapped fully open with horror as he saw Miles' arm sticking out from under the twisted pickup, and he began crawling in that direction. 

"Miles? Are you - " 

No sound. No movement. Desperately, he tried to push the wreck over and off the boy, just in case - 

Jubilee had managed to gain consciousness and she tapped weakly against Cammie's arm. 

"Get Kurt, port us...port us somewhere safe." 

She slumped again, blackness taking her as her body attempted to pull enough energy to keep her internal organs working. 

"Jubbs?" Cammie said, trying to get her awake again, "Fuck. Okay," she put Jubilee down gently and went running towards Kurt. 

"Kurt! Hey! We need you over here! Jubby - Jubilee - we need to get her out of here!" she said, stopping by him and seeing the wreckage, "Shit... Kurt, hey, we need you to get us out of here," Cammie suddenly felt guilty that she was relieved a boy she barely knew was there instead of Kurt. But she didn't say it. Even she knew when to bite her tongue. 

A blonde head appeared instead. Not Kurt, but Arthur gently carried the slumped form of Jennie in his arms. He smiled weakly at Cammie, reaching the two, but it didn't reach his eyes. Hell, it didn't even reach the corners of his mouth. 

"All set for evac," the man provided horsey, "What's the plan?" 

Kurt looked up slowly, dazed with the residual effects of his injury and seeing Miles dead on the ground, but eventually nodded, reaching for Cammie and Jubilee. 

"Yes. Yes, we must go. I will take you to the others."

One teleport. Two puffs of smoke. Soon, all that was left of the battle were those who would not be leaving scattered among the remains of mansion garage. Nearby the firebird still burned -- it wasn't over yet.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paige tries to get three of the students to safety but is penned in to a desperate ploy by Dark Phoenix.

The battle was raging and a stray blast smashed into the ground nearby, coring open part of the basement and destroying the main science lab of the X-Men. Paige held up her charges from their slow way back to the Blackbird to keep them out of the fight. Unfortunately, the blast drew the attention of the Dark Phoenix, who was moving now towards their position.

"Move!" Paige yelled, ushering them through halls, memorized even through the smoke and debris. Unfortunately, Jean Grey was rather familiar with them as well, following easily. She turned her back to her, and gestured them around the corner, hoping to block the directions, as she looped around, eyes scanning, brain ticking.

"Not good," Molly said, frowning deeply. They were running as fast as they could but that was hard with rubble everywhere. More people were dead. Now Sue too. This wasn't right.

But she didn't really have time to think about that, though. Cause they might be dead soon too. Especially with evil Doctor Jean chasing them.

"What do we do?"

Molly Hayes had decided that she had seen enough alternate evil people to last her for like, ever.

Tandy was running behind Molly, her face was now expressionless but moment before she had been crying over the lost of her best friend, Sue. Her skin glowed brightly helping keep Ty's shadows back from Paige and Molly. "I have no idea anymore."

The shadows encompassed the light, shielding their party from eyes and attack as best he could. "You guys can hide, and I can keep going like you're still here?" Ty suggested.

"Good, use that. I have an idea, but you're all going to have to stay here and keep low until I give the signal," Paige said, as they rounded another corner, a T shape with a smaller alcove to one side.

"I'm going to rig the reactor to blow, but I'll need your help after to get it as close to her as possible, if she doesn't follow me. If she does, you run, got it?"

The sky rippled with the heat of the Dark Phoenix's wings. Combined with Xavier's meddling, this many minds in such close proximity meant even she was capable of mild surprise. If nothing else she occasionally discovered some amusing new configuration of resistance. She paused a short distance away, the ground beneath her slowly blackening.

"Are those little bugs I see, scuttling under a rock for safety?"

Almost lazily, the Dark Phoenix swept a wing towards the ground. It struck with the force of a meteor, flinging chunks of dirt and debris in all directions, and covered Paige's retreat.

Ty siphoned energy from Tandy's light and poured it into the shadows around them, solidifying the surface enough to let the flying objects ping off of it. He felt light-headed and swayed on his feet.

Molly quickly got up behind him, lifting her hands up to keep Ty steady, like a prop. She couldn't see anything, and could only hear the sounds of rocks and metal hit the shield, making loud booms as they bounced off it. She didn't even know where Evil Doc Jean was. And because she was unsquishable, she felt a little weird being protected. Most of the time she'd be the battering ram.

Tandy felt the shadows feeding off her light until Ty swayed. She turned to face him. "Hey Ty, stay awake please." She whispered, forcing her light into him - hoping that it would give him a boost. "I hope Paige comes back soon. I am not sure how much longer we can hold down right here."

A sharp whistle drew Ty's attention to Paige. She stood in the hallway, giant hunk of metal in her grip. His eyes widened and with one big surge of adrenaline fueled strength, he cleared the debris between them and Paige.

Molly skidded to a stop, baseball style, as she eyed the reactor warily. "I dunno if I like this idea, but...." She shrugged. It was the only one they had left. Otherwise they were probably gonna...well. Y'know. Join Matty.

Grabbing the reactor, her eyes glowed purple she hoisted it up into the air with Paige's help to make sure everything got disconnected properly, and they began to run to get a good distance away. Well, as away they could.

"So, like the olympics, right?"

Paige smiled. "Just like the Olympics, chickpea."

Straightening, Molly puffed up her chest and nodded. "Okay. Here goes," she said. Taking a deep breath, she could see the reactor doing things it probably shouldn't, so she spun around a few times with the reactor in her hands. Once she'd gotten enough momentum, she let go and flung it at the evil version of Doc Jean. She didn't try to think about how this was probably gonna kill her.

Wait, she was thinking it now. Stupid thoughts.

But at least it would be over.

Tandy was right behind Molly as she released her daggers towards the woman who looked like Dr. Grey. She had aimed her daggers towards the woman's face, her daggers would hit her and then blind her. Well, that was the plan anyways.

The spears of light splashed harmlessly against the shield. The flash was intense, but the Dark Phoenix saw with more than her eyes. She sensed the overloading reactor, hurtling towards her like a meteor... and smiled.

The Dark Phoenix did not bat it away. Instead, an instant before the hulk of twisting metal reached critical mass, she wrapped it in a cone of telekinesis to contain the explosion -- and redirected it.

The fireball roared towards the four below her, brighter than the lifeforce shining from Tandy's body, so bright Ty was stripped of his shadows. Molly's invulnerability would not save her from the heat; any form Paige might have husked into would have been pulverized or melted to slag. There was nowhere to run.

The explosion stopped a fraction of an inch from them, the intense heat and flame frozen close enough to brush against them. The air had taken on an odd blue quality, and around Paige the students were frozen in their reaction to the Dark Phoenix' response. It was not the first time Paige had seen this and there was no surprise as she caught sight of the horsed figure spiralling down from the sky above. 

Seven feet tall, dressed in armor that was badly approximated by a thousand Wagner operas, the woman on the horse landed delicately on the ground beside her, hilting the spear that was longer that she was tall against her stirrup. 

"Well met, Paige, daughter of Lucinda."

"And you, Brunhilde. Nice timing," Paige replied with a nod and warm, though tired, smile.

"Our call is always at the moment of death, Paige, daughter of Lucinda. Yours is the scarcest breath away." She took off her helmet, allowing her blonde braids to fall loose about her. "Which is why I am here, sister. The time has come to pay your debt to the All-Father."

Continuing to nod, Paige looked at the others, swallowing against the guilt rising in her chest. "And them? Do they... What happens?"

"Them?" Brunhilde looked over at the other mutants, frozen in time before their deaths. "They will have died fighting. Ushering their way to Valhalla would be your right, sister."

"But if I was one of the Valkyrie, a new recruit as it were. How out of the realm of possibility would it be that I took a bit of a wrong turn," Paige answered, not a real question. Her eyes sparkled as she continued, beneath the dark circles and dirt as her husk fell away. "You know, left turn at the PLACE IN ASGARD instead of right, whoops! All halls look the same to me."

"You join our ranks involuntarily as the result of a granted life boon and now you ask for more? You have a curious way of paying a debt, Paige, daughter of Lucinda." Despite her words, there was a odd cast to Brunhilde's eyes. The Valkyrie were shepherds of the dead and the mead bearers of Valhalla, but they were also the personal force of Odin when called and none made their position through meekness or lack of gall. "You would petition the All-Father for them? I must warn you. If he rules against you, they could find themselves in much worse places than Valhalla."

Meeting her gaze, Paige raised her chin. "They're my responsibility, Brunhilde. I have to try, I can't do any less than my best for them."

"Then ready yourself to face the All-Father, Paige, daughter of Lucinda no more. Now, sister of the valkyrja, chooser of the slain, bearer of mead, and maiden of battle." A decidedly horsey noise was made behind Paige, and she turned to see the white winged steed from her time in Asgard. "Mount, and we shall ride for Asgard!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarice and Sooraya begin to fall the younger staff and students back to the Blackbird, only to have another group of echoes fall on them.

While the younger students had already risked everything with the defense of the mansion, it was time to try and get them out of danger. It didn't help that the X-Men supporting them were injured themselves, pushing back through the woods towards the crashed Blackbird.

'Healer, heal theyself,' wasn't possible right now. Water, a power bar, painkillers and a too-short nap was the best she got too long ago and it would have to do. Standing more by force of will then anything else, Clarice staggered towards the blackbird with her rag-tag team and the younger New Mutants, "Hurry up," she urged, even as she didn't think she could move any faster. Teleporting was out, she didn't have enough energy to open a portal for herself, forget anyone else.

Arriving in a cloud of sand from the direction of the mansion, now a cloud of rubble and the sky above it still alight in flames, Sooraya quickly reassumed her form before reporting softly. "It looks like no one else hostile is around so far, but neither are any of the others." She disguised the worry in her voice the best she could.

With a hurried nod of acknowledgement, Meggan moved quickly to the plane. She didn't want to waste any time. She looked behind her with worry, wanting to be certain that nobody else needed help.

Topaz was focusing on the floor - or more specifically, on her feet and making sure one was moving in front of the other without anything getting tangled up. _Fearpanicangerconfusionhelplessnessmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop-!_ She bit her lip as she clamped down on the torrent of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She needed to stay upright. She needed to not be a burden. Things were bad enough as it is, and she'd already caused enough trouble.

Johnny wanted to give her a reassuring smile, despite the numbness he felt inside, like all his emotions were a thousand miles away. He was limping - somewhere along the way, he'd sprained his ankle, wrenched his knee, but he reached out and slipped a hand under Topaz' elbow, supporting her.

Artie turned again, scanning the surrounding area, looking for movement, anything. His hands shook around the rifle he carried.

"C'mon, we can make it," Pixie encouraged the group, the Soul Dagger at her hip, determined that no one else should die.

"Uhm... I don't mean to worry anyone, but I think I am seeing something ahead in the trees? Or am I totally seeing it wrong?" Hope spoke up hesitantly from the back of the small group.

Meggan turned to look in the direction indicated, and tilted her head. There was something. “No, Hope, you’re not wrong,” she said warily. At least she didn’t think she was. She would be thrilled if she was wrong. “Did it move closer?” She had glanced away for an instant, so whatever was there had to have moved then.

Topaz was only dimly aware of the help Johnny offered her. Aware enough that she tried to give him a weak smile, but it felt like more of a grimace.

With all the emotions pressing down on her mind, it didn't seem possible for a few more to register, but the anomalies felt like a sharp knife in her already tender mind. She didn't even have the energy to groan. "Not something," she mumbled distantly, squeezing her eyes shut. Not again. God please not again. "Some things."

"Then we take them out like everything else," Clarice had absolutely no more fucks to give and she wasn't letting anyone else die. It was that simple. "Fuck a fair fight." 

Pixie couldn't see what the empath was feeling, but when the 'things' Hope spotted came into full view, her heart almost stopped. One thing stood out with its pink hair and the way it flew across the terrain. It was the form Pixie had taken when she was in Belasco's realm. She forced down the panic, thinking she would overwhelm Topaz with her raw emotions otherwise. But all her efforts to stay together were quickly failing. "It's her! I mean, me? Watch out - she has my dust, and she can teleport!"

Artie nodded. He blinded the ones he could see, the same simple illusion he'd used over and over lately and began to lay down covering fire. "Run!" he said, aiming that text at the new mutants. They were spent. He'd get them out of here. "Slice them up" he said, directing that to Clarice.

X-Men didn't kill. Well, this was war and she was going to protect the kids. With the powers set and skill levels they had right now, there wasn't much choice. Squaring her shoulders, Clarice brought herself to her full height and raised her hand. Purpley-pink portals began to appear in the distance. A moment later, the bodies began to fall. It was all she could do not to giggle hysterically and chant 'let the bodies hit the floor.' Shouldn't she feel worse for doing this and not better? 

Focus. There was a fine tremor running through Topaz's body, but she forced herself to stand tall anyways. She didn't have much left, but she did have one thing - the energy she'd siphoned off Johnny earlier. She put it to use, creating a shield around herself, Hope, and Johnny, and at Artie's order she nodded the other two, hoping to look more sane than she currently felt.

"Let's go."

"Look! There it is." Hope called out as she pointed out the dark metal plane in front of them. Peeking over her shoulder, she could see the others still fighting, though they seemed to slowly make their way to the plane as well. Glancing over at Topaz, she saw the girl shaking on her legs and winced. "Alright, let's get inside?" She urged. The two slowly started making their way up the stairs and Hope found that Topaz had to grip her at least once as her own legs started to get shaky as well... 

They were at the Blackbird, they were boarding, Topaz' shield having kept them safe and objectively, logically, Johnny knew why the urgency was so important but he just... didn't care, despite the roaring of his danger sense in the back of his mind. Sitting down on the ground, waiting for it to all be done would be easier and he watched Clarice and Artie fall back to the plane with a vague curiosity.

Catching the sounds of battle, Sooraya hurried back to the small group from her second scouting round. Luckily Artie and Clarice seemed already to have dealt with most of them, but she was just in time to bring one attacker to the floor with a sharp swipe across the Achilles heel. 

"Let's hit it!" she ordered as soon as the last person was on the plane and hitting the button to close the hatch. "Everyone in one piece?" she demanded, looking the kids over. Good. They weren't fine, but this was the start.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean is released from her suppressor as they consider the options against Dark Phoenix.

The fight was raging around them, but so far, each of the attacks tried by the X-Men had done nothing but annoy the Dark Phoenix. They were scrambling around, trying to disorient her with attacks and try to counter her tremendous power, but nothing seemed to work.

"You know," Gabriel panted, dashing away from flying debris and stopping in front of the mutants he'd been grouped with, "I think I preferred the Nazis." It was an attempt to lighten the mood, one that could hardly have been less appropriate given the severity of the situation. But it wasn't like Gabriel did well with severe. He raised his eyebrows, seeking a small smile or eye roll of some kind.

Met with nothing, he changed his approach. "How's Operation: Free Jean coming?" He pushed a loose strand of Jean's hair behind her ear, smiling warmly at her since he sensed she could use it.

“Aside from the fact I’m starting to think we might have better luck getting this thing off if it came with a digital keypad and a four digit code…” John wasn’t one to give up though. “It’s fine. We’re fucking fine.” At least that was what he'd been telling himself since all of this started. “Just…” He leaned in to take a better look at the collar. “—need to fucking locate that idiot proof… child safety, piece of shit thingamajig.” There had better be some kind of a — not so hidden — quick release button on the damn thing because the only other option he could think of in order to get the suppressor off involved using Jessica’s strength which would likely result in a very headless Jean. 

“So what’s the plan here, guys?”

"I say you and I distract the bitch while Speedy Gonzales here slaps the suppressor on her. Sound good?" Jessica asked, her tone fierce. She was all strung out and her mind was fried.

All of this was too much and it was starting to unleash the part of her that was still just a scared little girl from Manhattan. She thought of her parents, of the looks that must have been on their faces as they died. The look on her little brother's face as the car's crushed his little body. She'd survived that day, years ago, and she sure as hell wasn't going to die now. 

“Distract the bitch. Sure thing…” There was a sudden audible click and John’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. With a triumphant grin, he pulled the collar off before handing it over to Gabriel.

Jean let out an audible gasp and she fell to her knees, a shockwave of telekinetic energy radiating outward as her abilities rushed back with full force, slamming her with the thoughts and feelings of the others around her that, even with anticipation, still felt like being hit with a tsunami. A twin Phoenix raptor burst across the sky, snapping at the Dark Phoenix's own raptor reflexively before Jean ripped her control back, the glowing light in her eyes fading away. 

Even quickly stifled, the flare had not gone unnoticed. Jean's double turned towards her, the weight of her full attention like being inches from the sun.

"There you are," she said, her words carried by something more than sound. The Dark Phoenix glanced from Jean to the suppressor with a mixture of amusement and disdain. "I was hoping for a little fun, but it looks like you're still overwrought. Why else would you have waited until now to take off the collar? Unless that's your kink... did Scott get you into it? He did need that visor..." 

Jessica was fucking creeped out. And pissed. But the latter was her normal anyway. Whatever fucked up version of Jean the bitch above her was, she was already beginning to get tired of her. The brunette quickly decided that she wasn't going to wait any longer to strike. She need to give Gabriel enough time to grab the suppressor and slap it on. She slowly inched toward a nearby tree and wrapped her hands around its base. She pulled up, hard, ripping the tree from the ground with incredible force. She weighed in her hands briefly, before she rocketed upwards, tossing the tree with all her strength as she reached the apex of her flight. 

"Shut the fuck up! Geezus! I mean, we get it, you're evil and mind rapey! Give it a rest!" She shouted. She briefly wondered when she'd become suicidal, but quickly shrugged it off. If she was going to die, she was definitely going to be mouthy till the end. 

"Helpful, you racist." Gabriel muttered, because even though he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a Jessica-launched projectile, she was getting on his nerves. He took a deep breath, trying to push her out of his mind so he could instead focus on Jean, not Jean and the suppressor now in his hands. 

He looked at her, then looked at it, then looked at the Dark Phoenix before looking at the not-dark Phoenix again. "Well," he shrugged, trying to ignore the nagging feeling in his brain. "Here goes nothing." He closed his eyes, trying to empty his mind so the Dark Phoenix's telepathy wouldn't be able to catch him like Jean had. Then, defying every instinct, he started toward their foe.

Of course they were going to stick the plan and not say — run the other way, which would have been preferable to John. “Jesus fucking Christ.” The past hour alone pretty much summed up all the reasons why he wasn’t the least bit interested to be part of some leather wearing, superhero martrys-r-us group. There was rarely a moment when his life wasn’t in danger just being around these people.

Left without a choice, John got his box of matches out to help create that distraction they needed by lighting whatever that was being launched in the air on fire. 

Jessica hefted a large, flaming tree with both hands. She knew she didn't have long before the angry god in front of her caught wind of the plan that she and John had come up with. It was a simple plan, just the way Jessica liked it. John set some objects on fire and she threw the fuckers at Dark Phoenix. She flew upwards and tossed the tree like a javelin before she quickly swooped back down. She hefted a chunk of debris, not caring enough to figure out what it actually was, and grinned as the flames were added to it. She hurled it, making sure to use all of her strength. She had to keep fighting. Sure, she was going to be sore tomorrow from touching things on fire, but she'd rather be that than dead. 

At the second impact the Dark Phoenix finally turned her attention from Jean. She gave a contemptuous laugh as the next projectile smashed harmlessly against her shield.

"Oh, sweetie, that's not how you use fire." She stretched out an arm, and the wing of the firebird extended to brush Jessica with a pinion of flame.

"This is fire."

The area around the brunette erupted into flame: air, debris, bits of turf and vegetation. The Dark Phoenix began to narrow her concentration on the task of further igniting living flesh when another force interceded -- the same presence that was hampering her telepathy. The old man again. She would have to deal with him soon. 

Jessica would've swore if she could. As it was, the flames surrounding her weren't hurting her body. Sure, she'd be mildly sore tomorrow, but she was otherwise fine. What did hurt was the fact that the flames were soaking up all of the oxygen around her and she was starting to have trouble breathing. Everything was too bright and uncomfortable and, thus disoriented, flying was completely out of the question. She wanted to scream, to curse, to do something but she couldn't. 

John had felt the concentration of energy around Jessica the moment the Dark Phoenix turned her attention on the girl and he tried his hardest to stave off the flames, to cool the temperature and to stop the burning, but the smoke was suffocating and he couldn’t get close enough to pull her out.

The flames were the cue Gabriel needed. He quickened his steps, moving to a sprint pace just in time for the world to decelerate around him. The fire flickered in half time. The debris now seemed to glide around him. Through it all, he tried to keep his mind completely empty. 

As he sprinted toward the Dark Phoenix, suppressor in hand, he saw her start to slow too. Her figure grew bigger as he approached, and she appeared to be distracted. Excellent. He'd get the collar on her before she even noticed he'd been missing. And then they'd live.

He kept barreling toward her, now just yards away. His arm extended toward the almost-frozen woman, ready to snap the suppressor on, then bolt the hell away. Gabriel relaxed ever-so-slightly, confident considering he'd made it so far.

That's when her head snapped toward him.

The Dark Phoenix's eyes slid down to the suppressor in his hand, then back to Gabriel. She smiled, as if genuinely amused by his naivete. 

"'A' for the effort," she remarked, "but when you shred reality like a paper bag, time is nothing. Now..." she raised a hand to her lips, "fly, fly away, little bug."

In the still world of crawling flame, the woman with Jean's face blew him a kiss. 

The world was fast. Gabriel barely had time to think of a witty retort before she threw him off his feet, and the impact of a telekinetic punch to the gut took the wind out of him. Before he knew it, he was careening backwards, flailing his limbs to regain some sense of control. The look on his face had shifted to pure terror.

Before he could hit the ground with the force of a head on collision he was caught by someone who had enough experience to keep him from feeling the consequences of gravity. He was left suspended in midair for a moment or two before carefully floating to the ground. The Jean that belonged to this dimension smiled softly. 

"I've got you," she said.

"Thanks." Gabriel glanced toward her, giving her a weak smile. His head was spinning. Or the room was spinning. Something was spinning, and he felt like he might retch. "Didn't work, though. And the suppressor is, I don't..." He looked down at his now-empty hands, but his head moved too fast. He turned away from Jean just as quickly so she wouldn't see him get sick all over the ground.

"We need to fall back," Jean said to Gabriel, keeping an eye on her alternate self as something distracted her and she moved on with her swath of destruction. She wanted to engage but knew this wasn't the right time. Gently putting her hand on Gabriel's shoulder, her tone was gentle but her expression grave. 

"You'll be okay," she said quietly. They all would.

She would make sure of it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A group of the semi-invulnerables move in phalanx, facing a shredding TK storm.

The X-Men had gotten through Dark Phoenix's guard several times, only to be viciously beaten back in each incident. Her telekinetic powers had been centred and now waves of energy, racing with the same fire as the firebird emitted from her. Where they touched the ruins of the mansion, brick and stone was shredded into dust. The closer they moved to her, the thinner and sharper the telekinetic assault hit, like a million tiny knives in the air. 

"Fucking hell...." Logan didn't know what else they could throw at her. It was the Phoenix in full form and their strongest players had already gone up against her and failed. He held his arm up over his face to blunt some of the continual shredding of his skin and his eyes. He was going to be useless if he couldn't see. "Anybody got any bright ideas?" 

"Might be able to blunt the attack enough to get us a ways to her," Marius offered. "Problem is, I'm not used to telekinesis for more than a short burst here and there. I can turn what hits me into a shield, but it's not likely to be a good one." 

"So we move in sequence. My skin will adapt to an extent, you shield as long as you can, and Wade can see how his healing factor can survive a good scouring. If we can get Logan close enough, he's the one thing that we know can penetrate any last ditch psionic armor she might have and put the bitch down." 

"Sure," Wade said, checking his tac vest again even though he knew it wouldn't do him much good. TKs were cheaters, so far as he was concerned, and it was more than likely that one or all of them were going to die going up against this one - and like so many others, their deaths would mean nothing. But it was throw in here and now or turn tail and deal with the imminent destruction of the world tomorrow. Might as well go ahead and get it over with. "It'll be fun. Form up." 

"Never thought I'd be grateful for adamantium to put down one of our own," Logan muttered as he fell into place behind Wade. It didn't sit right with him letting them take the brunt of the onslaught especially since he had the strongest possibility of actually making it out of this alive. But they couldn't risk the Dark Phoenix figuring out what was going on. They needed this to work or none of them were surviving. 

Despite his talk, Marius quickly discovered that countering the shield was easier said than done. The pressure he'd felt during his first attempt had doubled, even tripled; even his mutation's reflexive counter couldn't entirely offset it. It was like walking into a wave. Teeth clenched, Marius concentrated on the energy he was absorbing and pushed it outward into a shield. 

The barrier was narrow and misshapen; Wade's elbow extended too far to one side and was immediately scoured of its protective clothing, while a swath of fabric on Garrison's shoulder and thigh shredded to bare his omni-skin. With each step the shield thinned, slowly worn away by the relentless sleet of energy. 

Then, mere yards from their goal, it collapsed. 

Their only warning was a grunt. Then Marius collapsed, and the full force of the telekinetic sleet was upon them. 

Kane stepped over Marius, blocking the worst of the onslaught. Fortunately for him, the random hits by the telekinetic assault had primed his skin and now while it hurt, it failed to make a mark. They pushed forward as a group, like three men walking into a violent wind, moving slowly to keep from being blown over. 

They were getting closer to her, but the power of the onslaught was intensifying. Kane had to shield his eyes, gritting his teeth with each step as the pressure grew greater and greater. Around them, brick and wood were pulverized in the radius of the woman; ground down into sand that they forced their way through. 

Dark Phoenix hadn't seen them, hadn't spared them a look. Was it obliviousness or a lack of concern due to arrogance. Kane couldn't tell. His body was now glowing red and each step was exponentially more painful than the last. A few feet away, he sunk to his knees, burying his hands in the sand. 

"I can't-" He gasped. "I can't go further." 

Wade had been partially sheltered behind Kane after Marius went down but as soon as the Mountie fell the entirety of the telekinetic sandblaster hit him full-on and he barely made it two steps more. His body armor was gone, a few metal plates hanging by threads from his shoulders, his skin literally worn away where exposed - and pretty much everything was exposed. Things would have been worse if not for his healing factor, but gimpy as it was, all he could do was stay on his feet in front of Logan while his friend prepped himself to cross the final bit of space to the Dark Phoenix. 

Enough was enough. Time for Logan to do what he did best. He stepped out around Wade, grunting as the full force of the telekinetic sandstorm hit him. His hair was immediately gone along with the X-Men uniform that had been fairly whole up until this point. His skin was next as he grit his teeth and staggered slow step by slow step closer. His healing factor kept him from being stripped to sinew and bone but barely. They weren't nearly close enough. 

Logan started howling as his steps halted with the Dark Phoenix just within his reach. He struggled to lift his arm, claws extended, and unbearable levels of pain shooting through him. This was it. He put everything he had into shoving his arm through the telekinetic pressure. Muscle fibers were being stripped away faster than they could be healed and every inch closer scoured away more until Logan's arm looked like a caricature. The rest of the world fell away until it was nothing but pain and the strength of will to force his claws that much closer. Closer, closer until he was that last inch away from plunging his claws into the Dark Phoenix's back and ending this. 

It was difficult for the Dark Phoenix NOT to be able to tell that the brutish, hairy oaf was headed her way due to all the screaming. Subtle. She remembered this one, time and time again. He was usually one of the last to go, mainly due to his sheer, annoying tenacity, and his healing factor. The same one that made the area smell like blood and viscera. He always seemed like he had a death wish. Perhaps that was the case. 

But she was always too happy to oblige. 

The Dark Phoenix turned slowly, freezing him in place as she considered the meat and bone and metal that was left of his arm, close enough to pierce her skin. But so painfully falling short. 

"Bored now." 

With a simple turn of her head, she took hold of his mind. Logan's arm started to move, until his claws were positioned right in front of his face. She smiled, giving him only a moment to ponder the repercussions of this before his claws launched forward. 

The ease with which their last ditch effort to salvage anything of their lives and their world had fallen apart sent a wave of hot grief and anger through him. Useless, pointless, all those lives lost and he couldn't make them mean anything. Logan had come to terms with his own death and how he would always have to watch those he cared about die around him a long time ago. 

His own death didn't scare him. In some ways he welcomed it. Maybe he would wake up in a better world because his healing factor hadn't failed him yet and if it did...then he wouldn't know what came after. 

That didn't mean he'd thrown in the towel. He fought for control of his own damn body to no avail, straining against an immovable force. It was just like when Magneto had used his adamantium against him. It pissed him off even more. He wasn't going out fighting, which was all he figured he could ask for. Instead, he was going out helpless and useless. 

Wade had closed his eyes, some of the TK shredder they were in blunted by Logan's movement in front of him - his eye lids had still been scoured raw, just like the rest of him, but he could hear every word the Dark Phoenix spoke. Bored now. Simple. Almost elegant, in its way. His eyes snapped open despite the pain - he was forced to hold one arm up in front of him, his blood flying out and around with the force of the telekinetic wind still whipping around them. 

Logan stood suspended, his body moving like a well-controlled marionette - but a marionette nonetheless. The mercenary watched as the claws lunged forward, toward Logan's face, and sliced through the bloody mess of tattered skin and exposed muscle. 

"You know, in Ancient Egypt, when mummifying the body they used to do this," the Dark Phoenix explained, sounding too close to their Jean for comfort in the way she lectured. 

"Of course, the person was already dead but....I'd always wanted to try it. It was a fascinating procedure to watch." That part, however, was decidedly not. 

The Dark Phoenix paused, her shoulders slumping in disappointment as she snapped her fingers. "Damn! I forgot it was a HOT poker," she said, tilting her head at Logan. 

"You don't mind, do you? Ah well, better late than never." She whispered. 

"We have to follow proper procedure." 

The smell of cooking flesh and blood wafted outward along with bits of smoke as his skin began to sizzle around the singular claw. It had started to glow. 

Wade had seen a lot in his life, but never something quite so grotesque as what was happening in front of him. Despite the fact that he could definitely see a white flash of bone on his forearm and the rest of him wasn't looking much better, despite the pain that blanketed him, the mercenary shoved himself forward into the bubble of echoing calm around the Dark Phoenix. He attempted a tackle, trying to force Logan's probably dead body out of Evil Jean's telekinetic grasp - and he failed. 

One moment he'd been moving forward, almost upon them, the next Logan's free hand was up, claws extended... and Wade found himself skewered. Oddly, his healing factor seemed to be working better than usual - not that it mattered. He was pretty sure he'd be dead soon, anyway. Pointless. 

They didn't see the chunk of concrete and because it wasn't aimed at Dark Phoenix, she lacked a telepathic fore-shadowing. The chunk hit Wade flush in the back, pitching him further forward on the claws but it also slammed Logan's body back in her telekinetic grip. Logan's adamantium skull smashed her in the face, splitting her lip and bloodying her nose.' 

The mice had been busy while the cat was playing. And the Dark Phoenix had let her guard slip in her enjoyment. She would not make the same mistake again. 

Wiping the blood away from her face oh so carefully, she narrowed her eyes. "Oh, Mr. Kane. You made a big mistake interrupting my fun," she said. 

Whipping her two new puppets around, she tossed them out of the way like a piece of trash in the garbage. Their end stop was a nearby wrought iron fence as she turned to Garrison. A few of the metal spikes from the fence popped off, and she began to telekinetically toss them at him. One struck him in the leg, the other in his shoulder. 

"You made me bleed. Seems only fair I should make you do the same." 

The wrought iron fence broke beneath the combined weight of Logan, Wade, and the concrete block. Pieces of it disappeared almost instantly and Wade decided he didn't need or want to know where they'd gone. The whooshing sound seemed to indicate they were heading for Kane which meant he had a very, very limited amount of time to get Logan out of there. Oddly, he'd already regrown all the muscle on his forearm and his skin had basically completely healed where it'd been scoured away. 

He decided not to question it as he pulled Logan up and over his shoulder, then pushed himself up so he could begin crawling away. The farther they got, the easier it was for him to move. He hoped Marius and Kane got out but he couldn't turn around to check.

Kane grabbed the spikes, pitting his strength against her telekinesis for a momentary standstill. All he had to do was keep her attention for a little while longer. He groaned as they pushed further into his body, but his skin was hardening around them, thwarting any followups.

The Dark Phoenix studied Garrison. "You ran out of hands," she said, quirking a smile. 

"And I like to be symmetrical." 

Three more spikes were ripped from the fence, and she flung them at Garrison's other shoulder and leg. The third was poised to go for his throat and actually stopped an inch short when it occurred to her that things were awfully quiet for there being so many people still alive. 

In that instant something fast and dark slammed into Garrison like a truck. An opposing force burst against the Dark Phoenix's grip, and suddenly the Canadian was torn from the air.

Momentum carried them far from their assailant before terminating in an uncontrolled tangle of limbs and spikes that spun a few times before coming to a stop against a handy wall. It was his rescuer that spoke first. 

"Apologies for . . . the perforation," Marius gasped. He lifted his head to reveal an ashen face, blood flowing from his nose and down his chest. He gestured vaguely towards the flame. "Had some trouble. Her power's a bit . . . hot."

"Don't worry about it. Skin stopped the worst." Kane said, slowly pulling out the spikes with a gasp. Despite the off-handed comment, he had nothing left to throw at her. However this battle was going to end, it would be decided without their help.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles Xavier prepares his own last stand.

His children were dying.

It started at Muir. All those familiar minds, those bright sparks he knew so well, extinguished forever. Those who had sought healing, and those who had sought to help, snuffed out. His oldest friend and enemy among them, each loss leaving a hole in his world. 

It continued in India. Brave, broken souls, giving everything of themselves in order to bring Jean home. More holes, the darkness growing within him. More loss, more pain, more lives gone. 

And now it was here, his home, the school he'd given his life for. The sanctuary he'd tried to create torn apart, the students, his students, forced to fight for their lives, for his life. Given their futures for his survival while he hid down in the basement complex, useless, helpless, crippled...

There was another rumble from above, magnified by the metal corridor. The mansion was being destroyed, just as his dream was destroyed, the lives of those he'd arrogantly claimed as his soldiers were destroyed. There wouldn't be much left to save. 

"Welcome, Professor." Cerebro's electronic voice was as emotionless as ever, the door unfolding before him as he nudged his chair forward. The helmet was cold on his bare scalp as he fitted it in place. 

"Cerebro," his voice cracked slightly and he tried again. "Cerebro, disengage safeties. Protocol triple-X-Alpha."

Time hung breathless and then Charles spoke again:

"Password: Erik."

Cerebro hummed, a low and somehow dangerous tone, as the various safety restrictions were unlocked. Charles paused just a moment, aware that a mere thought away lay the minds of an entire world. Minds vulnerable to his powers, as they had been years before in Alkali Lake. 

Closing his eyes, Charles stepped into the astral plane and began building his walls.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Haller coordinate a psionic defense.

The battle aboveground was not going well, and they could hear the sounds of the assault getting closer and deeper into the mansion. Unless a miracle happened, it wasn't going to be a long time before Dark Phoenix made her way into the basement.

"Her telekinesis is already off the charts," Jim relayed; he was not willing to call whatever was currently invading their home "Jean". "If Cerebro goes down and the professor can't use it to disrupt her telepathy anymore we're done. Are you sure you can set up something that won't kill its circuits?"

"As sure as I can be," Sarah replied, biting her lip. "I mean, it's not like I do this every day or anything. Or ever before, really." Especially herself, she thought, things like this were nowhere near her strong suit but when called on she was going to do all she could to help. She'd set things up as well as she could, not being very familiar with the tech, but she was confident it could do what she asked it to do.

"I guess we'll find out." she quietly added.

"I could always send out an EM blast. It might help give a boost that can disrupt it but not destroy it completely." Lorna suggested.

Rachel floated over to Emma while the tech-y people sorted their thing-y between the two of them, coming to a rest next to the blonde as she gave a vague wave in the direction of nothing. She had been silent since Emma and Sarah had arrived after being dug out from the rubble, clearly lost in her own grief and troubling thoughts, which she now tried and failed to voice. “It feels…” The redhead sighed, abandoning several attempts to speak before she settled for: “Time to prepare for the worst?”

Emma laughed, but there was no humour in it at all. "The worst?" she said. "I tore out my own heart today. Watched myself hold it in my hand and let it stop beating. And that was probably the fun part of the day. I don't think we can be prepared for what's coming for us." Emma stopped suddenly, closed her eyes, opened them again. "Yes," she said calmly. "We should be preparing for the worst. We don't have many choices, Rachel. Try and stay alive. Die. I tend to think the first is preferable. I suspect this is a two team option. Psychics on one team, the physical hitters on the other. I think we need to talk to Jim."

Mention of his name was enough; Jim made eye contact with the other psis, then turned back to Lorna.

"Looks like they need me. You and Sarah going to be okay?" The question was controlled, impersonal, but the way his mismatched eyes flicked to her broken leg before coming to rest on her face indicated it wasn't strategy he was concerned about.

Lorna nodded, "Of course. We will have your backs." She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful." She didn't know what was going to happen and nothing could ease the feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. 

Jim reached up to squeeze her hand in return and gave her as much of a smile as he could muster. "You, too," he said. "See you on the other side."

With a final squeeze, her friend disengaged to join the others.

"I'll make sure to open my best wine." She called out to Jim and looked over at Sarah, "Lets kick some ass."


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The forcefield fails...

The push of energy against the forcefield was growing, as the other assaults on her failed and Dark Phoenix was finally able to focus her powers against one of the last barriers between her and the mansion basement. The air around her groaned from the violence of her assault, in stark relief against the rents that continued to grow in the sky. 

Lights flashed across the giant shield as it was battered by objects, some physical, some pure energy. Chaos was everywhere, and Billy could almost feel it drawn into him, flowing through his veins. He began to chant more quickly. " _I want the shields to hold, I want the shields to hold._ " His hands, already glowing bright blue, flared white--almost painful to look at, and the energy traveled up his staff, pouring into air, binding Amanda and Cecilia's shields more tightly to his own. He glanced between the two, where exhaustion was evident. " _We need more power. I want more power_ ", he continued to chant, willing even more energy into the shield and his comrades. 

Amanda jerked slightly as the power from Billy hit her. She was nothing more than a conduit now, Billy's magic flowing through the channelling spell on her back and out through her hands into her own shielding spell. Conscious thought had essentially gone - she only existed to hold the barrier upright. At some point her nose had started bleeding from the strain, but she hadn't even noticed - everything was light and pain and willpower. 

Cecilia cried out through gritted teeth, as she'd been doing intermittently during this psychic onslaught. The nature of her gift meant that she felt every blast, every object acutely. To distract from the strain, her inner monologue was alternating between sí, se puede and a string of curse words in various languages. When she felt like she was about to give way, she'd imagine green-and-gold, Cecilia-channeling-Rosie-Perez in front of her. After what she'd done, no way in hell would she let that bitch get the satisfaction. 

"Whatever's powering this thing," she said after a minute of silence, "has to be exhaustible. Everything runs out of fuel, right?" 

_Including us,_ Billy thought silently. Wave after wave of power crashed around them, pulverizing the wood, brick, and mortar around them. _Well, them at least,_ he corrected himself. Every onslaught brought new waves of chaos that he continued to draw upon. Still, even with seemingly endless power, more cracks of light continued to spider across their translucent barrier. He staggered as a large pane of glass rammed into the shield, his efforts to keep it from slicing through barely successful. He leaned hard on his staff; his legs felt like jelly beneath him, and that was the only thing keeping him on his feet as he fed another wave of energy into the wall. 

The human body, as magic users over the centuries had discovered, isn't designed to deal with large amounts of mystical energy. No matter how strong the user, how great their gift, eventually everyone found their limits. Amanda had, over the years, gotten away with far more than her more genetically-mundane peers, but everyone has their limits and she was just about at hers. Her jacket and shirt had long-ago succumbed to the heat of the runes on her back; now, as they blazed a deep and fiery red, there came a smell of burning skin. And then, like the filament of a light bulb hit with too much voltage, the spell snapped, Amanda dropping to the floor like a broken marionette. Whether she was still alive or not was anyone's guess. 

What wasn't a guess was the impact of her loss. Without her shielding spell, gaps opened up in their barrier, only Cecilia and Billy's efforts stopping the Dark Phoenix's telekinetic barrage from crushing them all. 

"Amanda!" Cecilia's focus shifted from pain management to the crumpled figure in front of her. "Damn it, magic, get up." The words escaped Cecilia's mouth before she'd really even registered them, but there wasn't much time for apologetic looks. She threw her hands in front of her, willing her forcefield to push back against the Dark Phoenix's energy, and shifted positions to try and close the holes that had opened up. 

"No!" Billy shouted, losing his concentration as Amanda went down. That momentary lapse was enough, though, and with two pillars down, the shield wall fell. He threw up his shield again, trying to connect it back to Cecilia's, but under the barrage, it flickered in and out of existence despite his efforts to tie them together. He looked across the room, and could tell immediately that Cecilia's shield would never cover both her and Amanda. He wasn't even sure their two combined shields could cover the three of them. Maybe two, definitely not three. 

A jumble of images rushed to mind. Dusty books, snowy arboretum, misfired patronuses, blue hair, flaming fire escapes, potatoes, docks, lightning, eggs. Always the eggs. The choice was clear. "Your sorcerer's apprentice has got you safe and sound," he mumbled. He swallowed hard, before choking out the hardest chant of his life. " _I want this staff to shield them. Let this staff shield them_ ," He continued to chant as he pulled the pick black wood up like a javelin, breaking the mantra only long enough to call out, "CECILIA, CATCH." He continued to chant as the staff left his hand. It had to be enough. It might not be enough. Telekinetic energy slammed against him, forcing him to his knees, but he pulled the resulting chaos into himself, channeling it into the staff's path as it sailed toward them. "Let it be enough," he chanted his final prayer. " _Let my staff...shield..._ " The final word was never uttered, the chant vanishing in a roar of telekinesis and chaos and fire and lightning. 

"Billy!" The staff soared through the air into Cecilia's hands, where she stood, petrified by what she'd just seen. The Dark Phoenix was all force, all energy crushing against her, and her shield was starting to contract, and all she could do was stare at the spot where Billy had— 

"Shit!" A limb from a tree whipped across her shield, leaving a sharp pain that startled her back to reality. Her grip around the staff tightened, and she felt a rush of power surging through her. "No," she said suddenly, her shield starting to expand once more. "NO!" She shouted this time, a single syllable containing her pain, her anguish, but also her determination. Cecilia lifted her chin, now intently focused on their aggressor and the torrent of power flowing out of her. "Been through too fucking much, and this is not how I'm going out." 

"Move! Move!" Garrison's voice carried over the din. He'd watched the shield crumble, leaving the survivors vulnerable. "Wade, Gabriel, grab Amanda. Kyle, get Cecilia out of here." 

The Canadian skidded down a pile of rubble to his target; the fuel tank that had once been underground and used for the fleet. "Jess, I need a hand with this!" He started to pull, slowly dragging the tank from the ground, half full of fuel. 

Jess flew toward Garrison, her hair whipping in the wind, a stray tear running down her face. 

"Got it!" She cried, grabbing hold of the tank alongside the Canadian mutant that Rogue had told her about. She pulled as hard as she could and, together, the two managed to lift the massive component from the ground. 

"On the count of three. One...two...three!" She cried, throwing all of her strength into the toss. The tank hurled through the air, turning on itself a few times before it struck DP's shields and exploded on impact, creating a massive gout of flame in its wake. 

Wade's impulse was to get to Cece but he went for Amanda instead because the Mountie'd said so - and because Gabriel probably wouldn't be able to lift her on his own. Come to think of it, Gabriel was more use as an early warning system. Though pretty much everything was a warning at this point. Before they actually reached Amanda's prone form, the mercenary had unbuttoned the sheath at his side and taken Selma out. He slapped her into Gabriel's hand and said, "Take this, make sure nothing sneaks up on us and stay away from Double Penetration over there, she'll squish you like a bug." 

Then he stooped and picked up Amanda, muttering, "C'mon, Sammy Girl, that better not've been an aneurysm or we're gonna have to have a conversation." 

He was rewarded by a soft groan, although the witch was most definitely out for the count, bruised and battered and singed.

Kyle was moving on all fours towards Cecilia - and where Billy had been, and he was not letting himself think about that - there wasn't time, he didn't have the mental wherewithal, and shit needed doing - before Garrison was even done talking, and only stopped when he skidded into her shield hard. "Doc Ceec, we are getting the hell out of here." He wasn't even sure she could hear him through her shield - he had no idea how it even worked, just that it was keeping him from pulling her out. "Jesus fuck you are not doing this to me, lady. Come on." 

"Kyle," she turned toward him, her knuckles white from how hard she was gripping Billy's staff. "Talk to me like that again," she said with surprising calm, "and I'll surgically remove your fingernails." Nonetheless, the forcefield contracted around her until it hewed more closely to her body. "Okay." She stepped toward him, stumbling slightly - after standing more or less in one position for so long and absorbing so much physical impact, her legs felt a little like jelly. Come to think of it, most of her muscles weren't feeling so great either. "Whoa, okay." She took another step and tripped onto the ground. "Gonna need some help here." 

If yelling at her meant threats of surgery, Kyle was probably going to end up donating all his fingernails to Cecilia for scooping her up. "Sorry Doc, you can have the fingernails." He muttered. "You can shield up again this way." It was much harder to move fast carrying another full grown person, even if she wasn't all that heavy. 

The Dark Phoenix's response to the hurled gas tanks was less than impressed. It became even less so when she saw who was hurling them. The redhead rolled her eyes. 

"Jessica, if at first you don't succeed..." A tendril of power dove deep beneath the grounds, seeking a familiar piece of the mansion's infrastructure. With a flick of the mind, the Dark Phoenix threw a spark in the main gas line. "...you should quit while you're ahead." 

Wade had put Amanda over his shoulder in a fireman's carry but lost his hold on her when everything'd blown up. Fiery bits of earth and other pieces of shrapnel rained down around them as Wade pushed himself up to his hands and knees. So the yard had basically just exploded. "Excellent," he muttered, trying to find Gabriel amidst the smoke and dust. He wasn't having much luck, though - the kid was fast, so he might've been able to avoid the blast. Maybe. Whatever else happened, they needed to get out of there fast - Fry Me Now Jess and the Mountie weren't going to be able to hold up against Evil Jean for much longer -- 

Though maybe they wouldn't have to, since she seemed to have turned her attention elsewhere. 

The explosion had scarcely begun before the Dark Phoenix turned away. Her patience was wearing thin. Moreover, so was her interest. This world had already provided all the amusement it was likely to, she suspected. Enough distractions. It was time to claim what she'd come here for. 

The bird of flame moved to hover over what had once been the center of the mansion, and the Dark Phoenix prepared her final assault.

Crawling to Amanda's prone form, Wade managed to gather her up in his arms and half-stand, noting Kyle doing much the same with Cece. Gabriel appeared as if from nowhere and began to help them make their way clear of the burning rubble that had once been the medlab. The Mountie and FMN Jess were somewhere - there. Since Evil Jean wasn't paying them any attention, he figured it was now or never - get out while the getting was good.

So that's what they did, limping and burned - they crept away as quietly as they could and Wade, for one, hoped whoever it was that'd caught Evil Jean's attention fared better than they had.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last ditch psionic defense of the mansion meets the Dark Phoenix

In Jim's experience, there was a clear divide between reality and the astral plane. The laws of physics were only occasionally applicable, and the surroundings varied wildly depending on mood, company and location. There was no mistaking it for the "real" world.

Until now. They were linked to Charles, he knew it, could feel it, but something was wrong. It didn't matter whether he looked with his physical senses or his telepathy, or had his eyes open or closed. It made no difference.

In the astral plane Cerebro had burned, and was burning. The round walls appeared to have been caught somewhere between smoldering in cinders and still bathed in flame. The immolation had spread to the rest of the lower levels as well, leaving scorched walls and ashes. Hell was coming to Xavier's School for the Gifted. Or at least, to Charles Xavier's construction of it in his mind. It was already there for the real place.

The air was thick with smoke, wind, and heat. But it had all the hallmarks of a mental construct: the lower levels should have collapsed inward some time ago given the temperature and the rate of destruction from the fire, but they hadn't. The Dark Phoenix strode down the hallway, her fingertips setting the walls on fire as she passed. The burning corridors were home to her, her domain, a expression of self and representation of how she wanted things to become.

"And I think to myself....what a wonderful world," she said, pausing in front of a door marked with an 'X.' It always marveled her how egotistical the man was, no matter what incarnation. He had to put an 'X' on everything, like a dog marking its territory. She didn't have to search at all for her target. He was right where she expected him to be, physically and mentally, He would always be the captain who went down with the ship.

"Charles," she said, locking onto his mind like a bear trap as she telekinetically ripped open the door like she were unwrapping a Christmas present. A slow grin spread across her lips and she cocked her head to the side.

"I see you," she said.

The moment the words left her lips she pounced, yanking his mind into the astral plane, her astral plane, with little warning.

In war you took out the biggest threat first.

Charles' physical body stiffened and jerked under the sudden assault, mouth open in a soundless scream. His astral body, however, flickered only for an instant before it appeared in full psychic armor. Charles had expected this moment - it was inevitable.

"So you are done slaughtering children," he said, voice cold. "Shall we see what you are capable of?"

His statement garnered a laugh, and the Dark Phoenix shook her head. "You really never learn, you sanctimonious prick," she said. It was funny how they always thought they could win. Sad, really.

The setting didn't change much, because the state of the astral plane was nebulous at best. The real world and the astral plane were colliding together around the Dark Phoenix, still located in the mansion corridors above, and Charles Xavier. It was hard to tell where one place stopped and another started.

In the astral plane, the Dark Phoenix and the raptor were intertwined, and Jean took a moment to study her prey carefully.

"There are people still alive. Of course I'm not done," she said as a matter of certainty. The lack of humor to her voice in that statement was almost more frightening than if she had used it.

"Which tactic will you try? Appeal to my sensibilities....claim this isn't me, how sad you are....Or will it be righteous anger? How about an offer to join me? Or to cry. Believe me, I've heard it all, from every version of you. You could not surprise me." 

The Dark Phoenix lashed out with the raptor, its talons outstretched as they went for the throat.

"Pathetic."

Claw met steel with a dull clang as a sword flashed into being in Charles' hand. The feedback was purely psionic, however, reverberating through the minds of every psi-sensitive in the area.

"You are not Jean," Charles hissed out between clenched teeth, his words echoing through the astral plane. "You are Death, and if by my life I can stop your destruction, I will."

The sword dropped, then was raised again in a stabbing motion towards the woman at the heart of the firebird.

Even with three telepaths acting as a backstop, the massive waves of energy caused by Charles' clash with Jean's doppelganger were nearly beyond containment. Cerebro's walkway seemed to writhe beneath their feet and its walls pulsed, one moment antiseptic white, the next rusted metal, the next decaying flesh. Glimpses from a mad world -- or a mad mind.

Yet despite it all Jim could not tear his eyes from the dual images of his father: one frail and half-paralyzed in his chair, the other armored and vital, the very fabric of the astral plane swirling in his wake as he drove forward with all the amplified might of Cerebro behind him.

The epic battle raging in front of Sarah seemed like something out of a bleeding edge video game. The blending of the astral plane and the real world, which was especially jarring and disorienting to her, certainly added to that effect. Were it not for the practically incomprehensible stakes at hand she might have even enjoyed such a tableau; instead, it tightened her throat and put knots in her stomach, filling her with fear

Lorna didn't like this at all. The physical world blending into the Astral Plane? She didn't know a feat could be achieved. Her mind was racing and they needed to help the professor gain an advantage. She touched Sarah's arm, "We need to do the EM again, if I can access the iron in her blood...it might help. I can combine my powers with yours and it might be strong enough to break through." She almost didn't sound convinced but they had to try

"What've we got to lose?" Sarah quipped, bracing herself and gathering her concentration. She wasn't exactly sure how much help she could be to someone with powers as awesome as Lorna's but if they thought she could help, then help she would. Looking up at Lorna with a small, tight grin, Sarah nodded when she was ready and let her abilities flow, aiding the other mutant in their Herculian task.

"Why Charlie, you know what she did," the Dark Phoenix said, a grin of judgment on her lips as the raptor continued its assault.

"You felt Magneto and his followers die. You felt it before, those bursts of rage that you knew was just the beginning. Your daughter. A being of incomprehensible power that you knew you couldn't contain. And it terrifies you. We're the same. She just won't accept it. It makes her weak," she said. She gave a brief pause, then laughed.

"But I will. Because I am stronger."

She had sensed Sarah's attempt in that pause. Latching onto the little gnat, she accessed the part of Sarah's brain that controlled her powers and forced them to expand. For a brief moment, the girl would have more power than she had ever dreamed. She would be one with every working machine in the state of New York.

Then, the Dark Phoenix turned that power inward, focusing that laser sight onto the mansion's power conduits. It was like lighting an M-80 and closing it in your hand.

She locked sight with Charles, and a fire lit her eyes up from within as she switched tactics, suddenly linking his mind to Sarah and Lorna's.

"I am the Godqueen and **you will kneel**."

When the Phoenix had amped up her abilities to the nth degree, Sarah inhaled sharply, eyes gone wide. Her powers had increased after Genosha, to a large degree to her at the time, but that was nothing compared to this, not even close.

Before she could even try to comprehend what it all meant, she heard the word Godqueen - what the hell did that mean, she mused, never having heard it before - but before she could think any further on either topic she felt it. A flickering at first, in her brain, which flared to a fiery, violent temperature almost immediately, instantly incinerating her.

Sarah had been there one heartbeat, then was gone the next. A one, flipped to a zero; a digital death.

Lorna's mind didn't have time to process what was going on as it began to fail, not being able to handle whatever the Dark Phoenix was doing. Lorna screamed as her hands came to her head before she was incinerated from the inside out, leaving only ashes of where she had stood.

Death was difficult enough for a telepath to deal with. Death so personal, with his mind tied to Sarah and Lorna's at the moment they winked out... it was too much. Many years ago, he had saved Jean from a retreat into the depths of her own mind after the death of her playmate - now Charles was pushed to the same sort of self-preservation, yanking his conscious mind away from the abyss into which Lorna and Sarah had fallen, away from the clutches of the Dark Phoenix. Deep into his own psyche he fled, knowing as he did so that it would likely cost his students - his son - their lives.

_I'm so sorry_ , came the barest trace of a telepathic whisper, and Charles' mind was gone, his body slumping in the chair.

There had been no time to react. Sarah burned to ash, and Lorna with her -- Charles' consciousness winked out -- gone, all three of them, in less time than it took to draw a breath. "Lorna!" Jim screamed, his link to Rachel and Emma unraveling like a dropped ball of yarn. " _Dad!_ "

At one time, long, long ago, the feeling of death across the astral plane had severely traumatized a young Jean Grey. She had no one to guide her then. She was considered damaged, and locked away, with only herself to rely on. And so she embraced the damage, twisting it into her own.

When she first encountered the man that lay in front of her it was in another world. He claimed to know her. He pitied her.

But he didn't know her. No one did. No one could come close to her power. She was a God, and they were merely her playthings.

He thought he could hide from her by retreating into his mind. It was cute. But she followed him in, plucking him back out from the depths like she were picking a grape from the vine. But since he was defeated, weakened, all she got was a pale shade, a thin representation of himself. It was fine anyway. She'd rather not have heard him blather on anyway. The link was enough to do some damage.

Crouching down on the Astral Plane's representation of Cerebro that didn't seem to want to go away, the Dark Phoenix reached out to run her hand across Xavier's cheek. It was an almost tender gesture. Almost.

"If I more time I would have tried to find a new way of killing you. But things didn't go as smoothly as I hoped thanks to your little fanatics," she said, breaking off into an amused laugh. "Can't say I didn't enjoy it a little, though."

She paused, shaking her head, then rose to stand.

"And now I'm talking to a vegetable. Again. Shocker."

She was so close. She could feel it, reality cracking and shuddering at her very presence. All she had to do was add just a little more power...then, maybe, she could find what she was looking for.

Cocking her head to the side, she telekinetically lifted him up out of his chair. All things aside, it was the physicality of the act that she liked the most, even if none of it was real.

"I suppose I'll have to resort to the classics this time."

"This is probably going to get me killed," Emma muttered to herself. She couldn't lead this fight and she knew it - she simply didn't have the brute strength to compete with this enhanced version of Jean, nor the time to make her own psyche complex enough with traps and dead ends to confuse the rampaging telepath. But there was someone nearby who was and whose stake in the scenario unfolding before her was far more personal than her own.

Emma's laugh was sudden and contemptuous, but laced with real humour. "Godqueen," she snorted. Even the celebrated Frost ego wasn't insane enough to go for Godqueen.

The tendrils of her telepathy that she sent out were tiny, mere wafts of thought that almost disappeared in the maelstrom that was Astral Plane and reality intermixed. But they continued on, tendrils drifting to the same place and when they had reached Jim, they coalesced in a bright microburst, a concentrated slap of nearly the full force of Emma's not inconsiderable telepathic powers across Jim's mind, scorching into neurons and ganglia and making him pay attention to her. "Fuck this!" she sent, a message as brutal in words as it was in power. "Do your fucking job! Now!"

With the professor no longer around to buffer the onslaught, Rachel had gasped and gasped again, as though unable to draw a full breath under the psychic pressure hammering down on them. She stole yet another thread of telepathy from Emma with great effort and wove it around the rents in her own and minimized her exposure to the avalanche of power as best as she could.

The choking feeling in her chest never let up, and the sensation of teetering off a precipice curved itself around her neck. But while she couldn’t quite breathe, Rachel could still access the immense pool of telekinetic force she kept hidden and stored, and she reached into it to throw up the strongest shield she had ever built as she gasped out, desperate: “Jim!”

Haller's head snapped up from the smear of bone and ash that had once been his friend.

A swirl of pale energy swept over the ghostly talon dangling Charles, extinguishing it like water over a flame. The man dropped limply back into his chair, Cerebro sent slightly askew. His son drew himself up to his full, lank height and met the gaze of the burning figure that shone through the veil between reality and the astral plane, moving forward to physically interpose himself between the Dark Phoenix and the three who still remained.

The Dark Phoenix regarded her newest contender with the interest of someone taking in a form of entertainment. She smiled, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ah...the shattered boy, who is so broken that his brain is split into pieces. You know, I met a few versions of who were whole, once. They were formidable. But you...How do you still function, damaged as you are? You're like a dog that needs to be put down."

She paused. "It does inspire a bit of creativity, though," she said thoughtfully, telekinetically ripping off some of the plates from Cerebro to use to try to toss at him, to cut him with.

The plates slivered into nonexistence. Maybe it had been Rachel's voice, or Emma's command, her "do your fucking job", like a bolt of lightning to the brainstem, but the world had suddenly been cast in sharp relief. She was powerful; matching her telekinesis hadn't been without effort. However, he could sense turbulence on the astral plane: this wasn't the only battle she was waging.

"I'm less divided than you are right now." His voice had a strange resonance, as if more than one person was speaking. Reality immediately around the walkway began to reassert itself, as if the liquid energy was somehow absorbing the flame.

"My division is merely momentary. You are a walking case study," the Dark Phoenix said, casually noticing the world bending to her opponent's will.

"I find it ironic that Xavier, in all his power, cannot fix you, his bastard son. I think he likes having you this way, a pet. Let's see what you really look like."

The Phoenix raptor reared up, as if stoked by gasoline, and suddenly charged, using its talons to try to slash at Haller, to skin the mask that he'd constructed around his psionic avatar. 

The attack came too fast and vicious to block. As with Jean, the expressions of their telepathy were antithetical: water to flame. Haller turned that metaphor into a weapon and absorbed the blow, diffusing the Dark Phoenix's power with his own. The talons caught him across the face and chest nonetheless, marking his astral body with trails of blood and leaving his body screaming with sympathetic pain.

He staggered, but did not fall. He raised his hand to his face, half-expecting to feel wetness under his fingertips, and only then realized something. This parody of Jean was right; it was his instinct to mask his astral form to match his physical appearance. Past traumas and his own illness had left his avatar a patchwork man, a collection of disparate parts trailed by every selfish, shameful impulse given personality and form.

But not now. Here, in this moment, the mask had never even occurred to him.

David Haller looked up at her, blue eyes calm. "Today," he said, "what you see is what you get. But you're right, I am pathetic. And I feel sorry for you, because if this is what someone as worthless as me can do for the people that matter to them, I can only imagine what you could have been."

Though perhaps he already knew.

It didn't matter. Narrowing his eyes, Haller extended his hands and lashed out at the woman that was the beating heart of the flame.

" _Get away from my father._ "

Emma winced as she felt Jim lash outwards, a sledgehammer blow against a woman made of fire. It had some effect - flame shifting, re-shaping, around the lash and heaviness, but it wasn't right.

~Fire can't burn in a vacuum,~ she sent to Haller, a tight-band message, a pin-prick in a maelstrom. ~She won't stop attacking you. Be a hole, a vacuum, a space. Consume her. I can,~ words stopped, just pictures now - pipes and drainage and channeling, fire being poured into gutters and taken away, smothered, remade, sent back.

Another message, equally small, equally focussed. ~She wants this,~ Emma sent to Rachel, a snapshot of Cerebro. ~Can you break it? Kill it? She's a child, a toddler, deprived of her favourite toy. Danger if you do. Can you? Will you?~

~Yes.~

With the Dark Phoenix's attention averted, power flowed from Rachel's pores as she recovered and shot up into the air above them, still ensconsed in her thick shield that seemed to leech energy from the very essence of the Astral Plane bleeding through the atmosphere. The redhead raised both arms above her head, sketching a scornful parody of the 'godqueen' as she locked onto her target with a vicious smirk.

If there was one thing she had been trained to do by one fictional Remy LeBeau, it was to destroy.

A shimmering blue bubble snapped into existence around her shield as the psion clenched one fist and then the other, energy filling the space between and crackling dangerously against her forcefield. Overwhelming grief, pain and rage for the countless of losses and sacrifices of people she had known, had wanted to know, and had known in another lifetime found its brief outlet in the battlecry Rachel screamed out as the Dark Phoenix turned, just a fraction towards her. Just a fraction too late.

The wave of power burst forth from its confines as Rachel pushed, pouring energy into it with abandon as she unleashed the destructive force into the room.

Panels cracked, broke and shattered. The platform that they stood on shuddered. And still she pulled from within to push outwards until the telekinetic force from another threatened to crack her own shield, sending her tumbling towards the ground.

Emma barely had the capacity to notice Rachel’s actions, caught as she was behind the maelstrom that was Jim’s fight with the Dark Phoenix. But she was diamond and she was ice and pure white frost and she clung to those aspects of her identity, channelled the ice-cool organisation that defined her and let fire burn through her, shaping it, taming it, dissipating it. It was only a fraction of what Jim was dealing with, but she could help. And beyond ice and diamond she tapped into everything else that was her – her heart and passion and burning intelligence, love and laughter and tears and everything that loved life and clung to it – everything that made her human, and she poured that out to Haller, bolstering his strength with her own. 

Clinging to Emma's orders, Haller gave the Dark Phoenix no chance to look elsewhere -- meeting lashes of flame with whips of water, maelstroms of fire with waves of light. Every blow left his mind red and raw, grinding him inexorably back, but part of the force was absorbed, funneled into the telepath behind him. He bowed, but Emma's strength did not let him break. Together, they made the god fight for every inch.

He was acutely aware of the lives behind him. There was Adrienne's sister, shunting the power into their shared defenses with the focused precision of a machine even as it scorched the shining pathways of her mind. There was Moira's daughter, fallen but still fighting with all her bright rage and black grief to deny the Dark Phoenix her prize. There was his father, frail and defenseless in his chair.

There was his friend, dead on the ground.

Only now, in the crumbling depths of Cerebro as reality split around them, did Jim understand the power you held in your hands once you came to accept there was nothing left to hold.

So much power. But, as their dwindling pocket of reality began to twist and blacken beneath the endless flame, still not enough.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors attempt to use the suppressor against the Dark Phoenix.

The mansion had been cracked like an egg. The Professor had fallen, the assaults on the Dark Phoenix had failed, and looking at the sky, they could only imagine that even surviving her assault seemed not to matter in the face of the collapsing reality.

All light seemed to be swallowed by the bird of flame that hung over the mansion like a newly born star. Even the sun seemed pale and weak, as if the presence of the psychic anomaly somehow made everything around it a little less substantial. 

The woman at its center paid the effect no attention; to her, it was only the latest stage for the same tired play. For an instant she had appeared preoccupied, but it had not been enough to distract her from the aggressors. Now her expression was slowly turning from concentration to triumph. 

As they watched, the shell of flame around her moved to strike deep into the heart of the mansion, the vague semblance of a beak tearing through steel and concrete as a bird of prey would tear through a corpse. Through the whirl of fire and red hair her lips began to curve in a satisfied, almost eager smile.

Jean stared up at herself, the flurry of emotions she had originally felt at the sight of her having burned away into a sense of determination. She had to be stopped, for the sake of her friends, her loved ones, her children. If they didn't all would be lost. This she knew. But it would only take teamwork. 

Her attention flickered toward Adrienne, who was closest to the suppressor that the Dark Phoenix had discarded like a broken toy. 

"Adrienne!" she said, then nodded to the device. It was time to try a new tactic. 

By this point Adrienne was actively driving away any thoughts or emotions in her head about what she was seeing, refusing to process anything lest it all cause her to just curl up in a ball, whimpering. She blinked at Jean with a confused look on her face, as if seeing her friend for the first time. Obediently she followed Jean's nod and stared at the kinky dog collar just a few feet away from her, then moved towards it and picked it up like a puppy retrieving a stick. 

She had to spur herself to think, to switch back on enough to try and interpret what Jean wanted her to do rather than just standing there actively trying to block it all out. Did Jean want her to try and put the suppressor back on the Dark Phoenix? That was pretty much suicide. She generously figured Jean didn't want her to do that, because Jean would know there was no way in hell that she would do that.

Maybe Jean wanted her to use her powers on it? But she'd already done that, what felt like so long ago. Back when they'd broken Jean out of India, when she'd tried to learn how to disable it. Still, the future Readings she'd gotten off it back then might have changed with all the subsequent events. Maybe she should Read it again. Maybe this time if she looked into its future it would show her how they would defeat the Dark Phoenix. Although, most likely it would show them all dying horribly. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to Read it. Living her last moments in blissful ignorance might be nice.

Except she was with Jean and Scott, two of the most heroic people she knew, and if she did nothing and let them down she was probably going to feel bad about it. Damn. Even Marie-Ange did heroic shit all the time and might be judgy if Adrienne did nothing. Shit. "Okay, fine," she muttered aloud, rolling her eyes a little. She turned to Marie-Ange with the dog collar in her hand, hoping maybe the precog would have advice on which of the possible futures they should try and make happen.

The expression on Marie-Ange's face under the blood and dirt was disbelief. Resigned, exhausted, complete disbelief. This was possibly the most unlikely last-ditch ridiculous effort, and they were all going to definitely die. She shook her head, shoulders and head slumped in defeat.

Her hand reaching out to close around Adrienne's said exactly how much of her posture was a lie - or perhaps how desperate she was to rely on what had to be hope.

Adrienne wiped some of the blood and dirt from her own face with her forearm, succeeding merely in smearing more grime around on it. She covered Marie-Ange's hand with her other hand, hoping the touch would help her focus. She wanted to link with Marie-Ange on the astral plane so their powers could work together to try and find a better result off the kinky dog collar than she anticipated. Or maybe it was just because she didn't want to be the one responsible for doing this alone. That way, if it failed, which it surely would, it wasn't entirely her fault.

Finding the redhead's avatar, Adrienne tried to get their powers to work together, but getting them to connect, to operate on the same system, as it were, didn't seem to make any sense. It was like trying to read instructions on how to build a Swedish liquor cabinet when there was no English. Trying to tie them together, so they could work together, was far beyond her skill level.

Jean could sense the issues Adrienne was having and, now that her powers were back, knew she would be able to help. She and Adrienne had did something similar when she witnessed some of Adrienne's viewings while in the other woman's mind.

Her telepathy latched out to Adrienne and Marie Ange, serving as a bridge between the two of them, a translation filter of sorts that allowed the two of them to view the other's respective visions. The thing about connections is, however, that once opened, it sometimes linked to existing ones. In this case, the psychic link between Jean and Scott. 

Whatever Jean had done, it hurt. Marie-Ange choked back a sob and her fingers dug into Adrienne's wrist. 

Astral reality shimmered like waves of hot air off pavement. Beams of sun streamed towards the women from a piercingly bright point in the sky, and then bent and slowed, warping around a man sized raven that curled its wings around the both of them. The bird landed, talons pinning Adrienne and Marie-Ange to the ground and from its wings feathers drifted slowly to the ground. As they fell, they became ghosts, transparent memories of the dead.

Moira MacTaggert curled around a young boy protectively. 

Susan Storm, only half visible and face masked with pain. 

Pete Wisdom, bleeding from uncountable wounds.

David Haller, body torn limb from limb. 

Angelo Espinosa, crucified on a fence post.

Jean Grey, body still burning even in death

Erik Lehnsherr crushed by his own helmet.

The jet black bird flapped its bare wings, screamed and took off, becoming a black shadow against the burning firelight that was Jean, and the Astral world was cast in shadow until the bird was burned away, and ash fell to the ground.

"Holy buggering fucking _shit_!" Adrienne shouted at Marie-Ange, panicked. "What the bloody fuck was _that_?! That was a fucking _bird_! A bird with fucking _ghost feathers_! What the _shit_?! Why?! Why the fuck did that happen?! That was _not_ supposed to happen!" She reflexively rubbed at her sides where the astral bird had pinned her with its talons. "I was supposed to be showing you the timeline I saw so you could help me choose which possible future we should try to bring about! You were supposed to be my consultant! I just didn't want to decide on my own! And now there's fucking ghost birds with _people feathers_?!" she asked Marie-Ange incredulously. "What the hell?!"

Marie-Ange shook her head silently, and stared at the ghostly dead, like she was trying to will them to go. away. 

They remained, and her frustration was obvious. "What I see never quite makes sense at first. Ever. It is why I have a dozen boxes of filled up notebooks and sketchpads in my closet." She knelt down to touch the ground, and picked up some of the ash between her fingers. "It is all symbolic. Every single time, what I do see means something. Usually the big raven is trying to protect me from something." 

She sat down, in the middle of the piles of ash and drew with her finger, a circle and a crescent inside it. "So if it was protecting us from death, and fire... maybe, did any of your possible futures show anything like that that stood out? Something that blocked out light? Or made light?"

"I saw Scott shooting eyebeams at the Dark Phoenix," Adrienne relayed, "does that count? Do you think that's what we should tell him to try?" She was frowning, still trying to figure out how she could show Marie-Ange all the different futures she had seen in the Reading, so she would know everything Adrienne did. Even if she was sitting in the dirt like she'd totally lost her marbles. It was still better than Adrienne having to decide what to do alone. 

The Reading was filed in a shoebox in her mind's Repository, but even when she pulled it out and held the box out to Marie-Ange, she didn't know how to make Marie-Ange see the Reading and not just a shoe. "This is the Reading I took of the suppressor's future," she explained. "If you touch it, maybe you'll see all the different futures I saw?"

"Well if not I do not think we will have wasted much effort." Marie-Ange reached for the box, placed it in her lap and opened it. Whatever had been there before, now it was a pile of polaroid photos of the suppressor collar. She picked one at random, glanced at it, and then handed it to Adrienne, only to pick up another and another and another, until Adrienne had a pile of photos in her hands, and Marie-Ange had one remaining. "This is the only one that hurts to touch." 

Like all the others, it showed the suppressor around Jean's throat, but not the Jean they knew - this Jean's face was twisted by rage and anger, and there were flames all around her, except where a shadow covered half her face. Marie-Ange pinched the edge of the photo and the fingers of her astral form glowed ruby red. "I do not know if any of this makes sense. I think if you saw Scott, and I am seeing red light, that must count. It is too coincidental to not be important."

Scott slowly lifted his head from where he had been cradling it in his hands. Somehow he could see Adrienne and Marie-Ange as clearly as if they had been Jean. The two way connection was suddenly a 4 way crossroads, the sheer input of pictures and emotions flowing along the temporary, at least he hoped it was temporary. Scott didn't think he could handle the torrent of psychic information for very long otherwise. One thing that was coming through very clearly was the image of him blasting the alternate-Jean, nothing else they'd tried had worked, but if Marie-Ange had seen something then it was worth a shot. 

"Here we go," he muttered hoping someone could hear him over the radio as he rolled clear of rock he had taken cover behind. 

"Get clear." 

A red force blast flew across the empty space between the X-man and the manifestation, blasting through the flames before slamming into the Dark Phoenix's shields. The blast held as Scott poured on the power the alternate Jean rotated to face him, his blast sliding across her shields until a crack formed. Scott barely had a chance to register the crack appearing in the near impenetrable barrier, his forcebeams catching a small overlooked imperfection, before the crack snaked out across the carrier. The shields shattered in a wave of energy that exploded out like a tidal wave, catching Scott and anything else in its path like just so much flotsam throwing everything back across the ruins of the mansion as the Dark Phoenix let out a shriek of shock and rage. 

In a perfectly timed moment, the distraction enacted by Scott allowed Jean to come behind the Dark Phoenix and telekinetically lock the suppressor collar around the other woman's neck. The result was like blowing out a match as the Dark Phoenix's fire went out and the woman hit the ground as her mind was overwhelmed by the suppressor's electronic impulses against her brain. 

Then the foul smell of burning plastic and metal began to fill the air.

The collar began to melt around the Dark Phoenix's neck, dripping down her chest and back. She staggered to her feet, dazed at first but steadying rapidly. Until now their efforts had been amusing at best. The attempt to suppress her, however, had only served to make her angry.

"Did you think... this toy... would be enough to stop me? _Me_?"

Hair swirling with fire, flame racing down her body, she raised her arms high above her head. 

The barely-contained power exploded outward in a massive shockwave of psionic energy. The deluge flattened the burning trees, all that remained of the mansion's foundations -- and the remaining defenders.

The Dark Phoenix lowered her arms, what remained of the collar still glowing red-hot around her neck. She surveyed the ruined landscape for a moment, then smiled in satisfaction. Without a second glance she turned back to her nearly-complete excavations. Cerebro awaited.

"And I think to myself... what a wonderful world..."


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last barrier falls.

The landscape flashed between hellish ruin and sterile technology as water battled flame. Around the telepaths debris fell like rain; it was impossible to separate astral turbulence from the physical assault on the foundations of the mansion.

And then the Dark Phoenix faltered. Her eyes went distant, the flames banked. There was no apparent reason for the flicker, but for an instant she seemed almost a normal woman.

Haller didn't question the opening: instead he summoned his own astral weapon. Charles had favored the elegance of the sword, but such things were a product of their makers. Instead of a sword, his son conjured the weapon that had made the strongest impression on him in his own childhood: an AK-47.

The astral plane was not bound by real-world accuracy. With cold determination, Haller raised the assault rifle and took aim.

The Dark Phoenix watched the bastard child of Xavier's attempt at playing Rambo with an impassive look on her face as a light on the astral representation of the suppressor collar around her neck blinked like a beacon. Alarmingly, the blinking started to increase, until it was a steady light. A hint of a smile formed on the Dark Phoenix's face, betraying her momentary ruse.

As if in slow motion, Rachel watched as the bullets were let fly with mounting dread. The Dark Phoenix's stutter was too good to be true. Something else was up and the warning sensors in her head started blaring as she picked up a building surge of power. A ruse. A trap. Something was going to blow. 

The psion threw herself forward with a panicked expression, the sinking feeling in her gut telling her she was already too late even as she grabbed Haller around the waist, pulled him backwards against her and shifted. 

As the collar started to melt around the Dark Phoenix's neck in the real world, her astral form grew brighter, and brighter, until it was impossible to look at her without being blinded, Her hair caught fire, and her face twisted into that of an enraged snarl as her voice boomed across every plane.

~"Did you think... this toy... would be enough to stop me? Me?"~ 

The fire spread down her arms and she raised them high above her head, mimicking her actions in the real world. As the last of the circuitry burned away the deluge of power that it had been trying to contain suddenly burst outward in a massive shockwave of psionic energy that knocked the bullets, and everything else, back.

The physical constraints of Rachel's human body fell away like water from a bird emerging from a hunting dive into the water. The bright blend of energy and telekinetic power of her formless psionic form coalesced over Haller in a wave of protective light and a loud hum just moments before everything else went to pieces. 

Emma smiled. It seemed a somewhat odd reaction to the fact she was probably about to die, Adrienne was about to die, the world was about to die, but nonetheless. Emma smiled. 

This creature who planned to kill them all was death. Worshipped death. Wanted it and craved it and created it. Foolish, foolish creature. There was life, good life and bad life and mediocre life in between: love and hate and reading financial reports. Her sisters, her brother, her company, her partners, business and dancing and sexual. The thing wanted death, but in the last moments it gave her, Emma thought of Adrienne and cognac and lost love refound and her Christian, the best and worst of them and Sebastian falling from grace but strength and support without ending and Doug, so afraid and still holding firm, and she imagined the hands of her partners, and mouths and their touch and their worship and their love and she thought of all of the best that life could offer and even when her mind went blank and black and fell away, Emma smiled. 

Emma smiled. 

Then the astral interference was gone. The haze of fire and hell dissipated, leaving behind nothing but the silent ruin of Cerebro -- and the still forms of Charles and Emma, alone on the walkway.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean confronts the Dark Phoenix directly and finds more than she bargained for.

As she alighted in what remained of the sub-basement the Dark Phoenix flicked the last fragments of liquid metal and melted circuitry from her neck like drops of water. Earlier she had walked the astral equivalent of these hallways: the psychic aggregation of the residents' perceptions and Xavier's own defenses. Now she was here in the flesh, flame springing from every footstep.

A negligent wave of the hand tore free the door that guarded Cerebro's inner chamber. Dayspring's daughter had all but destroyed the infrastructure, but despite minor variations Cerebro was always Cerebro. Loose wiring slithered back into place; circuitry reknit and shattered panels fused, restoring themselves to pristine functionality. The damage was repaired before she'd even cleared the walkway.

"Oh, Charles," she sighed as she reached the figure slumped at the control station. "Just once, I'd like to be surprised." Without ceremony, the Dark Phoenix plucked Cerebro from his head. Xavier's only response was a limp roll of the neck.

She noticed the only other body on the walkway and wrinkled her nose. "Oh, there you are, Emma. Well, you might be interesting. Maybe I'll let you live and the two of you can share a cell in the asylum. Or perhaps I'll shatter you again. Diamonds are a little cliché, but for you I'll make an exception. There is something to be said for the spoils of war. First things first, however..."

A fiery talon picked up Emma's limp form and positioned it Charles' lap, the woman's legs straddling the arm-rests, her arms draped around his neck in the parody of an embrace. The Dark Phoenix smirked. "There. Don't say I never did you any favors, old man. For the time being, though, I need the room." With a flick of her fingers the wheelchair sped backwards and into the hall, leaving the chamber clear. 

Humming tunelessly, Jean's doppelganger ran her hands across the helmet's slick surface. Strange how similar the design was throughout the myriad worlds she'd visited. Strange, and predictable.

Well, it would be over soon. It always was.

The Dark Phoenix shook back her hair and donned Cerebro. Engaging the machine took no effort at all; Charles had already thoughtfully removed the limiters for her.

The astral plane beyond the immediate vicinity was still unspoiled. Mutant minds glowed, pinpricks of light in her mind's eye. Like a fisherman tightening a net she began with the ones furthest away. Each mind was like a hook in the world, each miniscule existence another barb in reality. She drew the minds to her, taking their lives into her own, and as she did the astral plane began to churn.

One mind in particular suddenly seemed to outshine the others as it drew near, one very familiar to the woman at Cerebro. In the doorway, the rightful Jean Grey stood, the air around her bathed in flame.

"Get Out. Of. My. House," she said. In that moment she had flung the door to Cerebro at her alternate self, knowing it wouldn't connect but using that time to telekinetically deposit Charles and Emma away from Cerebro and as far down the hall as she could manage.

The flung door exploded into nothingness, obliterated by the Dark Phoenix's protective aura. Only then did the woman in the heart of Cerebro turn.

"Alone at last," she said, smiling. This close the differences between the two were obvious. Still in her twenties, the alternate's expression and posture were etched with the careless invincibility of the young. The hair that peeked from beneath the helmet was longer, wilder; it whipped around her as if caught in a perpetual breeze. Even beneath the flames her skin glowed as if lit from within.

The double regarded Jean with lambent green eyes. "I was starting to think this would be one of those times you just crumpled into a ball of tears and self-loathing," she remarked, completely unfazed by the other woman's show of power. "I'm glad I can still surprise me."

Falling silent a moment, Jean stared back at her other self like she were looking into a mirror. Suddenly the lights around Cerebro started to flicker as the console in front of the Dark Phoenix was ripped off the platform and the integral circuitry around it was pulled out and yanked apart, sparks flying everywhere. The room suddenly went dark. 

Jean knew Cerebro like the back of her hand. She was the one who had made the repairs. And she knew the Dark Phoenix couldn't do whatever she needed to do without it. 

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises."

The Dark Phoenix only laughed, wresting control from Jean like an adult taking a toy from a naughty child. The console and its fragments froze in mid-air, then rapidly began to reintegrate. Split wires and shattered circuits joined back together; the system stabilized immediately. It had taken only a heartbeat. The doppelganger smiled.

"Oh, honey," said the Dark Phoenix, tapping Cerebro knowingly, "I've already seen them all."

And she struck.

The Dark Phoenix had begun at the outer reaches of her range. Now she had an audience -- an audience with a vested interest in the lives nearer to hand. The talons of the alternate's firebird split from two into dozens, spider-like and twisted, and darted to close around the pinpricks of light that represented all that remained of Xavier's final line of defense.

In those days after the destruction of Muir Island, even in the minutes afterward, Jean had sensed her powers growing by leaps and bounds as if they had been kindled by a fire. Her mind had expanded, to the point where she could feel the reach of the entire world if she tried. As she arrived closer to the Dark Phoenix's presence she had come to understand why: those who bore the name Jean Grey were nearly all but extinct. This woman had seen to that in the swathe she had cut across the dimensions in an attempt to amass the sheer power that was the Phoenix.

Now that reality was splitting apart, worlds bleeding into one another, the Phoenix had almost become sieved into the two of them. As a result, she could sense what the Dark Phoenix was trying to do, and, almost like the crossing of swords, extended protection around those at the mansion from her enemy with a telepathic shield around their minds like armor. 

It was a harsh decision, for she knew that keeping those at the mansion alive was at the expense of those that the Dark Phoenix was culling to try to add to her own strength. But she could not save them all, even with the power she had. To keep the people at the mansion alive meant they could help stop the Dark Phoenix if possible. Admittedly, it was also a selfish act as well. 

"Not going to happen," she said. 

The doppelganger regarded her almost quizzically. "Have you even thought about why you're doing this?" she asked, not displaying so much as a muscle twitch to indicate Jean's counter was any more than a minor inconvenience. The younger woman gestured to the grounds above them. "Even if you're not ready to admit it you must have sensed it by now. These people, everyone you're fighting for -- they're nothing. As flies to wanton boys are they to us, and those that don't already understand that will soon. Do you think they'll overlook what you did to Erik and the Brotherhood just because you took a stand here? They'll never forget what you've done." The psychic vise tightened against Jean's shield. "Or what you're capable of."

Jean braced herself, shoring up her mental defenses against the pressure. She knew it was low tide, and high tide was coming in. 

"What you seem to have is a failure of understanding. These people are my family. They are the ones I love. They are the ones I've died for. And they would die for me," she said, holding steadfast. She would not falter for anything. Not for this. Not with them at stake. If she could do anything she would save them.

"Some of them already have. You'll never get that. You'll never HAVE that. And I pity you. Because I know you've heard it so many times before. Because it's true. You can try to pretend, try to snuff out every voice that portrays you as something once resembling human, but at the end of the day you'll always be alone."

The Dark Phoenix just looked at her. Her expression didn't change, but something in her voice did. It might have been pity -- or something else.

"You're new to this," she said, "so I'm sure that's what you believe. But give it time. We aren't like the rest of the world. Alone? Enough time with this power, to find what you're truly capable of, and you'd understand that when all is said and done I might as well be." She tilted her head, a thought occurring. "Although... I suppose that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. I could make you an offer."

"I have lived longer than you," Jean said. "I have seen sorrow and heartbreak. And boundless joy. And endless wonder. And the people I love saw me through. I would trade power for that, any day. Power can destroy, but it can also be used to create. You let your power corrupt you, without love, without someone to guide you. I am so sorry. Under better circumstances, I would've tried to reason with you. But I have seen your mind. You are beyond reason. And I cannot let you exist any longer in this world." 

The Phoenix flared up again, and shot at the other raptor, letting out an unearthly scream. 

The Dark Phoenix's beautiful face twisted, sharp and sudden as a switchblade. The firebirds slammed together, slashing at each other with curved beaks and searing talons.

"Me exist?" the younger woman snarled, her aura flaring. "Do you know how many times you've begged for the privilege of joining me? Do you have any idea how many worlds you've fallen to your knees and pleaded for your life? The promises you've made if only I would spare you? You sad, pathetic woman, don't presume to lecture me about power. You, who uses a senile old man's worn-out philosophy as her excuse to deny her own birthright? You, who couldn't even give her husband a child?"

Through Cerebro the Dark Phoenix was still linked to countless minds, and she did not share Jean's concern for protecting them. Each strike fell heavier than the last as she pulled from the vast pool of power they offered, heedless of the dozens upon dozens of lives that paid for every blow. They were less than nothing.

Flamed feathers blackening with power, the enemy phoenix reared back with a triumphant scream. The beautiful pretense was gone; now it writhed with heat, hundred-eyed and hundred-clawed, a grotesque amalgamation of power stolen from countless murdered selves. The woman at the center gave a final, cruel smile.

"If you love this world so much, _burn with it_."

Lighting-fast, the beak pierced the breast of the other phoenix and closed around Jean with a snap. 

Where the beak touched Jean's skin, fire radiated outward, illuminating Jean's veins from within. Clenching her fists together, the fire snaked upward and soon began to light her eyes from within as smoke poured from her body.

She was being burned alive.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda's attempt to keep reality together finally crumbles.

The sky was bleeding and hell had come to Earth.

Long rents had been torn in the fabric between realities, pulsing energies pushing their way through, the deaths of a thousand worlds visible through the cracks. And with each world that burned, the backlash of all those lives, all those futures snuffed out, their pain and suffering, poured out of the sky. 

In comparison to the carnage, the attempts to fix it seemed pitiable in comparison. A small band of four, pooling their resources to hold up the sky.

Standing behind Wanda, his hands on her shoulders, Stephen Strange had poured every mote of power he had into her. And it wasn't enough. It had never been enough. But he would never give up, not while he could stand, even though at this point he was holding himself upright by the grip on her shoulders, his hands white-knuckled with the effort. 

God, it hurt. Everything hurt so much and with every breath Wanda was holding back another scream of agony. For every precious inch they regained, another tear opened and bore its weight down upon them. And even her own powers were hurting her and she felt little pieces of herself shudder as a line popped and tore - she had never been intended to use her powers like this and she was near to certain that something was breaking inside of her.

But when the end of days arrived on your door step, and when you'd already lost so much, there wasn't much else you could do but keep pushing until that something actually gave.

~That man won't quit as long as he can still draw a breath~ The snippet of dialogue from a cartoon popped unbidden into Doug's mind. Appropriate in a way, given that it came from a fight between Superman and Darkseid. They could use a Superman about then - something to turn the tide in their favor.

Whatever Strange had done to link them all together was unlike anything he'd experienced - definitely not like Emma or one of the other telepaths creating a bond. He could feel the others, but not hear their thoughts. But it was the only reason they'd succeeded even as much as they had in stemming the approach of the end.

North had his head turned against his shoulder, incapable of speech or thought as teeth gripped the leather of his trenchcoat collar against the pain of his brain moving beyond his control. Blue irises had disappeared behind a thick film of white as visions flashed, sharp and swift. Sharper and Swifter. Things he could not comprehend, understand, or see. He fought against his training to keep from breaking away, even if he would not have been able to. Fingers flexed around Doug’s and Strange's, hard enough to break bones but gentle enough to not. The world stopped making sense to the soldier and the spy's confusion was lost behind the unrelenting waves of pain. 

A small voice told Wanda if she stopped now - if she stopped, it would still hurt but she would recover. Wanda opened her eyes and stared up into the broken sky as pushed all of its weight and power on the four. Stop and live ... and never be able to live with herself. Even as the pain increased and more cracks appeared in the sky despite her best attempts at sewing it back together.

There was no stopping now or going back. She'd made that choice the day she'd put on the leathers, the day she'd left for the Brownstone.

Something broke and it was not in the sky but inside of her and she jerked under the hands of Stephen as blood bubbled out of her nose and mouth. It hurt so much but there was also so much she could not feel. Her thoughts were disjointed and broken but she reached out frantically, hands slipping against the two men who bracketed her and she didn't know what she was trying to say until she toppled backwards against Stephen. 

But Wanda knew at the last second what it was as she lost sight of their faces and the feel of Stephen against her faded to nothing. One last regret, then, as the chaos that ran through her shuddered and went out.

Strange almost fell as Wanda's dead weight collapsed against him. Then the full force of the energy they'd been trying to hold back struck him, no longer filtered by Wanda's powers. The pain was huge, unimaginable - he had time to briefly think how on earth was she channelling all of that? - but fortunately brief. His system, unused to the punishment he was already putting himself through, gave up. One brief glance at Doug, the boy he'd once helped to fly, blood seeping from his nose and ears, and then he too folded up with a quiet sigh. His hands still gripped Wanda's shoulders.

"No." Doug's denial was barely a whisper. And then it was a howl, bare-throated and raw, with all the force of his power behind it, as if he could command the universe. "NO, GODDAMIT!"

And then the remains of the chaos energy, having lost two pieces of its conduit, whipsawed back on Doug and North. Doug reached toward whatever that tiny piece of magical talent Strange had said he possessed was, but it was like placing a pebble in the face of a tsunami, and he was washed away just as surely as Wanda and Strange before him.

~I always thought it'd be the Courts and the Guilds that'd be the death of me,~ he had time to think as his vision went red.

~Laurie...Angie...Wade...~

~...I'm sorry.~

Doug fell like a dropped weight and the old man clinging to his hand crumpled alongside of him, consciousness long lost to the tempests in his mind.

The sound of two more broken bodies hitting the ground went unheard as Chaos raged war around their fractured circle, sweeping them up and away and burying them beneath the weight of its fury. Like they were nothing.

Even if they had stood for something.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final showdown between the Jeans takes place.

1, 2, 3....1, 2, 3.... the minds the Dark Phoenix touched around the door swayed and dropped like a macabre waltz before bursting into flames like kindling. Jean could feel them all, the dead, the protected, all vying for her attention, even as the Dark Phoenix tried to immolate her from within. She knew her weakness. Or at least, her perception of one. 

It was a pain she had never felt before, to have her mind stretched thin, and every cell of her body infused with fire. It was nothing like dying the first time. That was quick, a burst of pain before...nothing. This was slow, agonizing. It was all she could do to keep from screaming, even as the tears poured down her face but disappeared into steam as quickly as they came. 

There was something she didn't tell them when they arrived at the mansion to confront her dark doppelganger. It had taken her time to accept it. But from the moment she had sensed her presence in this reality she had known what her fate would be. There was no other way but this. 

In this moment, it was Jean Grey's turn to laugh softly, even as smoke poured from her eyes. 

The Dark Phoenix regarded her with lofty scorn. "I see you've finally made your peace," she observed in a bored tone. "Well, death is a part of life. Most of you realize that in the end. That's precisely why you never ascended -- you still think like a mortal, and like all mortals you will die a mean, pointless death. I am a god."

Still clenching Jean's smoldering body in the beak of her burning construct, the Dark Phoenix reached through Cerebro to draw the life from the last of the lights in her grasp.

"I am fire incarnate, and you are nothing but fuel for my pyre."

Jean lifted her head. "Expecting death means you have something to lose. It means you have to find a way to survive. I have no intention of doing that. But I have every intention to ensure that the ones I love do." Parts of her skin were starting to burn away, revealing the muscle and bone underneath. The pain would have been excruciating, but somehow, her mind had moved past it. She could feel it no longer. 

Perhaps the Dark Phoenix was wrong about which Jean was ascending. Jean locked eyes with the would-be god, her smile widening into a grin. 

"Let this mortal show you how it's done." 

It took the turn of her hand, something that would have almost been impossible only a week before: a matter of switching the consciousness of one mind with another. In the moment that passed, both of their perspectives had changed. But it did not stave off the inevitability that both Jean Greys were not long for this world. 

Jean felt the rush of power as her mind slipped in like an uncomfortable shoe. Her first act was to stop extinguishing any more minds, even as she felt the build of psionic energy growing bigger. There was no stopping it. It would consume them all. 

The discomfort Jean felt was nothing compared to the experience of her double. It had been so long since she felt pain -- real, physical pain -- she had all but forgotten what it was like to experience it first-hand. Frantically the Dark Phoenix fought to snuff the fire eating at her tissues, but the body she found herself in was already past the point of no return. Her senses were filled with the stench of burning hair and charred flesh, and she realized with horror it was her own.

Desperate now she scrambled to escape to the astral plane, but no sooner had she fled the agony of her body then she found herself faced with the void. It was no longer she who was linked to Cerebro and the vast network of minds. Now it was she, not Jean, left grasping for the edge the psychic chasm even as the vacuum of all the lives she'd ended seized her like an undertow. It was she, not Jean, the darkness began to swallow. 

Through it all she saw her own face above her, bright and beautiful and limed with flame, gazing down at her with something like pity. With a noise something like a scream, something like a sob, she stretched her blackened fingers and reached out.

In her final moments, the woman who had called herself the Dark Phoenix finally understood what it was like to kneel before a god.

Jean regarded her alternate self with a mixture of sadness and judgment. It was a strange, disturbing sensation to see herself from someone else's eyes. To watch her own body burn away, claimed by the flames. But it marked a sense of knowledge, knowledge that the time had come. That the greatest threat they had ever known so far had passed. 

"Now you are... fire incarnate," she said. She reached out to touch the other woman's fingers with her own, but they fell to ash. The weight of what remained of her body was too much to remain standing with nothing to keep balance. The Dark Phoenix's body, once her body, toppled over and tendrils of smoke and cinders wafted into the breeze.

Jean stared at herself for a couple of moments, knowing that moments was all she had left. And that was okay. The time she had with the people she loved was well spent. It was the ultimate sacrifice, one she had made before, one she was making again. The Dark Phoenix was right. Death was a part of life. Perhaps that was her greatest gift: to be life incarnate, giving her own to ensure that others would remain. Now and forever.

She could feel something stirring from within, and knew that the pressure from the psionic energy had reached its peak. A warm, white glow had now diffused her skin from underneath, and it had started to grow brighter. Staring down at her hands, the tendrils of energy wafted from cracks in her skin, washing over her like a comforting caress.

This amount of power had the ability to wipe out everything, and she could sense that reality had strained past its breaking point. But somehow, in that moment, she could see beyond now. And she knew what was coming. For her. For her friends, her family. The world.

And she was not afraid. Because they would all be safe.

The psionic energy swelled, and soon burst from her in all directions, washing over her like a tidal wave. Jean Grey smiled.

The world went white.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xorn appears at the end of a broken world and changes everything.

The world was a whisper. Long bloody rents had been torn in the fabric of reality, the space between universes reduced to a fractional amount. It was as if watching an entire universe collapse in on itself. Jean Grey was dead. That was clear. Her body had been incinerated, along with her rival and millions of innocent minds. The clear heat death of the mutant race was so fresh it ached like a brand. 

There was nothing left to do. The wisp of consciousness was fading quickly. The inevitability of death in synch with that of a universe. Seven billion lives times a million universes were crashing into the same space, and in the wake of that carnage, it was impossible to even guess at how reality could survive. 

When he appeared, it wasn't teleportation or travel. One minute Xorn wasn't there, the next, he was there as he'd always been. The figure looked around like a man who'd just discovered something surprising. His hands went to the clasps of his mask and he unhooked it with determination. The mask was the product of both Forge and Essex; a filter strong enough to allow a god to focus on a single person. He discarded it with a contemptuous manner. 

"It seems we have no lack of fire. A great deal of ash is coming." For once, Xorn was communicating normally, a sign that things were different. 

Xorn motioned with his hand, and around him, a billion worlds cycled. They could see the damage caused by the Dark Phoenix in hundreds of broken and burnt out universes. Fragments whirled like shards of glass caught up in a tornado, endless moments of other realities that existed for a fraction of time and then blinked out into nothingness. 

But there was more. 

"Consider the universe." Xorn hung in front of the others, crossed legged and floating in midair. The world had, for lack of a better term, stopped around them. The surviving mutants found themselves sitting in a frozen world, torn with destruction and chaos, wrapped with fire, and instead, they found themselves whole, listening to a pleasant middle age Chinese man. To one side was the discarded helmet of Xorn, enough for them to figure out who he was. 

He held out his hand and in it, a single glass globe sat in his palm. "It's a flawed analogy, of course, but quantum theory isn't always best explained in language originally intended to tell other monkeys where the best fruit is. But if you consider this small glass globe as your universe, we can start to understand what has happened." 

His hands moved again, and suddenly the glass globe was a string of globes hanging from his hands. "Now, if this is a universe, the others represent alternate universes. At the end of the day, a string of a million billion universes. And then," He said, his eyes bright. "Something interesting happens." 

"It isn't a string. It's a spiral." The globes suddenly coiled around themselves, growing closer and tighter as they turned into a spiral shape, sitting in his hand. "The Spiral. It grows more complicated than that, but envisioning nth space tends to muck up the explanation. So let us stick with the Spiral. Now, to truly envision it-" 

Xorn spread his arms, and they we plunged into the tapestry of infinity. Below them, the Spiral beckoned, but it wasn't the series of glass globes. Instead, a million galaxies were compressed in tiny bubbles and pressed against each other. Around it, a fog of shards flew, orbiting the structure like space trash. 

The Spiral; the impossibly huge, impossibly dense, and impossibly compressed structure of dimensions showed more cracks, as if the damage wrought was leaking out, spreading like a web. Whole universes seemed to resist it, but when ones were found with existing creaks, it pooled in, enlarging and deepening them. 

"-well, you see it looks a lot better upclose..." Xorn floated in front of them, the object in his hand returning to a glass globe. But this one was cracked, broken, missing pieces. 

"Now, consider this is your reality. Broken; fragmented, and most importantly, on the point of collapse. Ready to join the other universes which shattered in the same way. Yet, there is something you have that others don't. The potentia of the energy of the Phoenix. She is gone but her energy exists to be harnessed. With it, there are... possibilities." 

Xorn's brain was a miniature sun and his closest comparison was to God. And even he was discussing severe limits in their survival. It was troubling. 

"You see this globe-" He waved his hands, and it grew to a huge size. "For all the repair that can be done, there are pieces missing. Huge pieces. From which we need to find something else to fill it." In the demonstration, other shards began to fill in the gaps. "And that is going to mean change. Tremendous change. We are going to rebuild your universe with parts of others. It means the deaths and the losses aren't reversed. Just... filled in." 

Marie-Ange felt no pain, which was the most confusing thing about this to her. "So. So you are saying that all of the cats, alive and dead, existed, and you are going to make a new box with a frankenstein cat, yes?" 

"An analogy that is altogether unfortunate for the cat. But yes, I will rebuild what can be rebuilt and replace what is gone." 

"But this is also a fragile repair. The more pressure put on it, the closer it comes to shattering. You, coming from a whole world, will be the only ones who remember what has always been is not what was. That is more power than you may think. Enough doubt, enough questions that things are not as they should and, wellness ..." 

He spread his hands and the globe had turned to shards in them. 

"That is a stunningly easy way for someone to break this new world that you are building," North pointed out, running hands down his side only for it to come back blood-free. "Someone speaks, another overhears and then we are all out on our asses again with another broken world? Unless, of course, you intend to wipe our memories of our past from our minds." 

Artie nodded, and, too exhausted to project, signed and damed if the rest of them could understand him. "Will I still remember who I am and what I've done?" He'd killed a lot of people. Forgetting that wiped the consequences away. He could no more do that than he could forget the good things he'd done in his life. 

"Maybe it would be better to just forget," Adrienne shrugged. Standing between Garrison and Emma, she was staring at an empty space, head down, not really looking at anything at all. It was all so impossible to digest. Glass baubles like a string of pearls, rebuilding the universe, not being able to talk about it. Not bringing back the dead. It was all too much. All she could focus on right now was that Tandy wasn't here. Tandy was dead. So many people were dead. It would undoubtedly be better to just forget all of them, all of this pain. 

"It is and it places a fierce responsibility on you all. The reality will have its strengths, but trying to reassume your old lives or demand others acknowledge a past that for them never existed or tread a future that is not theirs will strain it badly. It will be your duty to learn to accept the changes, large and small." 

"How big are we talkin'? I mean, is bacon suddenly gonna taste like cherries? Cause, dude, I'd totally miss bacon." 

Jubilee was a bit weirded out by the whole floating thing but it wasn't like she wasn't used to her life being a series of impossible events before breakfast. 

"I never ate meat so I can't reassure about bacon." 

"Great, we get a shiny world that's mostly ours but sort of not. Awesome. You're a stand-up guy," Wade said. He didn't have his guns. He didn't have his knives. This place wasn't really real except that he could see the places in the mansion where he'd been, where he'd gotten skewered - the fires were literally frozen, time stopped. "Bring back the kids. Bring back the people who died." 

"Once a life passes in a universe, it is gone. There is no power that can unthread the dead from their fate as anything but a grotesque mockery. Would you risk that for them or for your own comfort, I wonder?" 

Topaz, of course, had no bloody clue who Xorn was. She was only just barely following what he was saying. The massive headache she'd had was gone, but the exhaustion from overusing her powers remained. She just wanted to sleep. 

"Can you bring them back?" Her voice was small, entirely unlike her, when she heard what Mr. Wilson was saying. If this Xorn character could bring people back...if he could bring back Matt and Tabitha and Sue and...everyone...maybe that would at least make this hell worth it. 

"Not much of a reality-maker if he can't," Clarice pointed out, she too was exhausted as everyone else and all she wanted was to go back in time so none of this ever happened. That wasn't how life worked though. It was probably more difficult being a survivor than it was anything else in a situation like this. "So. Do it. Fix this. Bring back the dead." 

"But you can't bring back the dead, not really," Jennie pointed out. Her chest no longer hurt, and she could draw in full breaths of cold clean air. She should have been shaking, her body on the verge of collapse, but instead she mirrored the man's calm. "Their energy, their potential is gone." 

She tucked a piece of black hair behind her ear. 

"And for us, and our lives? If you're making things whole with new cloth, won't our lives be different as well? Won't we be different? I have tasks yet unfinished. And if I won't be able make things right, then you might as well let me die with the rest. For I won't be myself anymore." 

One moment he'd been lying face down in the rubble, and now . . . this. Whatever "this" was, whoever this was, Marius didn't know. He didn't want to, because the moment he began to analyze was the moment he was forced to recall all that had transpired, and he didn't want that. Not now. He didn't want to hear this pleading for those that had died. Not those that he had seen, not those he hadn't. As long as he didn't think about it the losses remained unreal, abstract. Instead he focussed only on the small sliver of reality he could be certain of: his friend's tone of voice. 

_Jen . . ._

"You will be the only ones who will remember this now broken past. For everyone else, they will remember their world as it has always been. You may find your tasks still awaiting you or changed. I cannot guarantee what. All I can assure you is that if you'd rather be dead, you will have the opportunity to make that choice on your own." 

"He's not bringing back the dead", Angelo said tiredly. "He said - the deaths aren't going to be reversed, but he's going to fill in the empty spaces. Xorn - does that mean there'll be people who look like our dead but don't remember what we do?" 

"Those lost will potentially be replaced from other realities, although like everyone else in this world, they will remember this world as being as it has always been and their lives as their own." 

"So that's it? There won't ever be a time we can put things back as they were?" 

Laurie couldn't understand how they'd come to be here but she'd read about Xorn in the X-men archives. 

"W-we'll still be us, then? The good and the bad? I don't want to lose anything." Jessica asked, her voice shaky. Sure, she'd been through some shit in her life. Some serious shit, this whole Dark Phoenix bullshit included. But...deep down, she'd liked her life. There'd been people out there that had made it work living and the prospect of having some of them, or all of them, disappear in the blink of an eye was horrifying. Especially since she'd remember it all. It'd be like being haunted by ghosts. 

"You will change. Life is change, but you will remember this past as you do now and you will be there in the beginning as you are now. But can you stand at the centre of change without being touched by it? I doubt that." 

North sensed rather than saw a pissed off mercenary throwing himself at the pretentious prick that was practically single-handedly trying to determine their fate. And while he could get behind the sentiment, the German man let out a pained sigh, and moved to hook one arm under Wade’s armpit and pulled it back, kicking at his ankles for good measure. 

“That is not a good idea, mein Freund.” 

Another, gentler, hand helped to restrain Wade. Arthur shook his head. He had no smiles left. "It doesn't matter. We could ask a million questions, make a thousand demands, or demand to know where this guy was during everything went down, but we'll get no real answers. He's just humoring us." 

"No, he's not." Amanda had been quiet during the exchange, taking in who was there and who... wasn't. Her physical injuries were healed, but she was exhausted and heart sick. "This isn't about us. It's about saving a whole fucking universe. This universe. This isn't a fucking negotiation he's offering us, it's a choice. His world, or nothing. You think he wouldn't have stopped it, you think he wouldn't bring it all back just the same as it was if he could? He's not God, he's just another mutant, like us. He can't, and what he's offering is the best he can do." The small blonde straightened, looking Wade in the eye. "Personal isn't the same as important. Remy taught me that. And I'm not going to spit on his sacrifice - on all of their sacrifices - by chucking a tantrum 'cause the only way for things to go on is probably the hardest thing any of us is going to to." 

"Pointless," Wade said. "Their sacrifices were all pointless." He wouldn't let himself say anything more, though. He hadn't lost everything. He'd just lost pieces. Everyone had lost pieces. Turning away, he found Doug to make sure he was there, that there wasn't another piece missing, and then he started walking past the other survivors. Whatever this place was, he couldn't look anyone else right then.

Scott looked up from where he had been sitting with his head in his hands as he struggled not to just collapse under the weight of everything that had just happened as he watched Wade's retreating back. "Amanda's right," he said in a quietly, his voice near breaking, "Jean, Namor, Remy they all gave everything they had to save the universe, and now Xorn is offering us a way to let everyone else in the world get on with their lives. Or the closest approximation to their lives that they can get. Now everyone gets to go on an live their lives, that's why they, we do this." The X-man's voice dropped to barely a barely audible whisper, his voice breaking as he spoke, "It can't have all been pointless, she saved the world again."

Xorn spread his arms, his body superimposed against the view of the Spiral. In his hands, the red-gold flames of the Phoenix danced. with a twist, he released them, flooding out into the angry cracks in the globes of the Spiral, racing through them. They were joined by Xorn's own energy; blue lightning that jumped and arced between the flames, fusing the cracks where they touched, like an arc welder melting whole a rent in a steel plate. 

Xorn's form slowly stripped away; the human body disintegrating and leaving a form of pure blue energy. The figure closed its eyes and suddenly Xorn was gone with a flash. The wave of blue energy suffused them and the Spiral, linking the fire and electricity into one stable balm. 

With a blinding flash, they found Spiral falling away from them, growing distant as they fell, speeding up as they fell faster and faster down into the abyss.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new universe begins...

It was cold and wet. That was their first sensation as they awoke on the ground. Kane raised his head from the cold, snowy ground and looked at the mansion. It was whole, standing above him like it had for years. All around him were other mutants, slowly staggering to their feet as they view the site. There was no trace of the devastation from a few moments ago. 

After Gabriel hopped to his feet – ignoring the throbbing pain in his head that he had to assume came from a reality shift – he started counting. While his compatriots stared at the newly viscera-free grounds and a mansion that looked as impregnable as it once seemed, he was scanning their faces, assigning them each numbers in his head. 

This stitched-together world was quiet. Muted, and fresh. There was no sign of the hell they'd all been through. And all Gabriel could think to do was count. 

"Hey," he said, mostly to himself at first. A puzzled expression crossed his face. "Hey," Gabriel said louder, looking around him. His heart started pounding, racing. "Clint." His eyes got big, and he started looking around more frantically. No. No, no, no. "Xorn forgot Clint." A pit was growing in his stomach, and he repeated himself, as if saying it again would change the inevitable, obvious answer; as if all it took to change this new reality was a few words and a hand gesture. "He — where's Clint?" 

Artie, mentally numb and exhausted but still in better shape than most of the others, caught Gabriel's arm. He shook his head, expression grave and saying everything that needed to be said, tears burning behind his eyes. He wouldn't, couldn't cry here and now. 

With Artie's touch, Gabriel fell silent. He faced the other man, staring blankly at him for a minute. A tear he hadn't noticed fell down his cheek, dropping off his face and into the snow. "No," he rasped. "No." Gabriel shoved the man's hand off him and, following the instinct he'd had for much of the day, bolted away from the mansion. 

Laurie had awoken much as the others had, curled on her side in the snow but as this new reality sunk in, she realized that not all of her had made it over the divide between old and new, although it had been healed. She struggled for a moment and then simply rolled onto her stomach in order to use her remaining hand to push herself up onto her knees and in turn onto her feet. 

"We should get everyone inside before we all die of exposure." 

"Yes," Cecilia croaked. She'd been uncharacteristically silent for some time, staring at the mansion (and then Gabriel) in disbelief, but Laurie's voice had broken her stupor. "She's right." Cecilia glanced at the girl for a second, the reality of the situation slowly setting in. "Medlab," she said. "Xorn or no X—" She paused, wondering if saying the man's name allowed would rupture the delicate world he'd pieced together. "Everyone needs to be checked out." Unable to stand being still for any longer, she started walking toward the building. 

"It's just snow," Adrienne retorted with a roll of her eyes. "And if we die, apparently we'll just be 'filled in' with people from other fucking universes anyway." She turned to look after Gabriel before her eyes drifted back to the ground. "Clint's dead. Just like Tandy. Most of the students are dead," she spat out bitterly. Only Hope and Topaz were left. The other six were gone.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather just sleep in the snow." Amanda groaned as she opened her eyes, light stabbing directly into her brain, or so it felt. But she heaved herself upright, turning to offer a hand to Marie-Ange. "C'mon, Frenchie. If no-one minds, we can rest up here before heading back to the Brownstone." 

Marie-Ange's eyes were bloodshot and dark, and she took Amanda's hand before wobbling to her feet. "We can rest, yes." She stumbled once, and bit down on the inside of her cheek as the flashing lights of a migraine poured down over her vision. "There is too much to puzzle piece back together in the snow. Wet snow warps all the pieces." 

"Yeah, that is does." Amanda snorted despite herself as she hauled her friend upright. "Oi, Doug, give us a hand here," she called to her other teammate. Focusing on who was here, that was the thing. "Angie's in la-la migraine land."

"She's not the only one," Doug grumbled as he levered himself up. He'd gotten approximately an entire universe's worth of information dumped into his head, and his power was trying to parse it all and file it away even as bits and pieces slipped away from him like water through a sieve. It was just too much.

But Amanda and Marie-Ange needed him. He slowly sat up and brushed himself off. "Godlike Chinese wanker stitches together an entire universe and can't be bothered to put us inside where it's warm." He hoisted Marie-Ange in his arms, staggered to his feet, and began plodding toward the mansion with Amanda. 

Wade listened to the voices as they went back and forth. Did the Brownstone even exist in this new universe? Was it worth pointing out that it might not? Did he care? The sunlight was bright. The snow was cold. North had just gotten up from his spot on the ground near Wade and... was definitely on his way out. On his slow way out - if that wasn't the most sedate walk the mercenary had ever seen. Still, that wasn't a bad idea. He pushed himself up, gave Doug and Marie-Ange short nods, and then turned to walk away as well - in the opposite direction of North. 

Scott's eye's tracked Wade's back for second before he turned back to observe the others gathered around with worry as he levered himself up off the ground. Cecilia's right," he told them, "no use in waiting around out here, "Lets get inside, a warm meal and drink and bed is what most of us need. We can do check ups and figure out what's going on in this world tomorrow." For tonight, they all just needed to rest and recover, himself included Scott noted as he put actions to his words and started towards the mansion after Cecilia.

Angelo wasn't moving, having spent more of what little energy he had on watching and listening to the others, and now being hit by everything he'd been bottling up while they tried to keep their world together - and who wasn't there with them, expected or otherwise, like Rachel. He turned his face into the snow to hide - and maybe try to put out - the growing burn behind his eyes.

A prod came to Angelo's ribs, just where it would be the most annoying and impossible to ignore. "I refuse to allow you to succumb to frostbite," Jean-Phillipe said sternly, but tenderly at the same time. "Come inside with me," he implored his boyfriend. "We are both still here, we can address everything else from there." 

That was one of the few voices he couldn't ignore. Angelo rolled over to peer up at him, eyes red-rimmed.

"...Okay. Help me up?"

Marius was counting to himself, the act unwilling, like picking at a scab. There was Jennie, there was Kyle . . . The relief he felt was mingled with dread. "We're missing more than the students," he said, blunt even for him.

Scott turned back to look at the Australian, his eyes blank, almost deadlike, "Like Adrienne said, a lot of people are gone." he told the Australian in a unnaturally calm voice.

Her leg wasn't broken.

It was possibly the stupidest thing Angel could have zeroed in on, but it was the first thing she noticed when she picked herself up, examining the snowy, bleak surroundings, just watching the others go for a moment, staying behind to help the others who had yet to move. The mansion was just ahead. Home.

Sort of.

Topaz didn't get any further than pushing herself into a sitting position before the migraine and the unending string of panicconfusionuncertaintyfearanger slammed into her mind and it took everything she had in her not to fall back over. Instead she leaned forward, cradling her head in her hands. She really didn't care about the cold right then.

An arm slipped around her shoulders, a familiar voice murmuring: "C'mon kiddo, let's get you inside." Leaving Marie-Ange with Doug, Amanda helped her student - her last surviving student, the thought brought a sudden blurring of tears to her eyes - to her feet and began the slow stumble towards the mansion - and the Box.

Adrienne got shakily to her feet. Despite chiding Cecelia and Laurie about the weather, self-preservation dictated that she get up out of the snow. But she had no intention of blindly following Scott. How could he be so damned pragmatic? Warm meal and drink and bed? Really? Like this was some camping trip and they'd been lost in the snow for a couple hours before being picked up by some rangers and taken back to the lodge? Fuck him. His fucking wife was dead and he was just going to go have some hot chocolate and marshmallows and go to sleep? She considered following the statement made by North and Wade of just walking away, or even just decking Summers for not freaking the fuck out that Jean was dead, but felt Emma's mental signature in her head helping to calm the turbulent emotions within her. So she went to Kane and offered him a hand up instead.

A sharp call cut through any remaining mired introspection from the mansion entrance. 

"Hey guys, you really should come in here." Arthur peeked his head out from the old mansion's entrance, cupping his hands around his mouth. He had chosen to explore upon being one of the first to wake up. "I say this as both our trusted resource in outdoor survival, but also because it looks like there were renovations."

He did not wait for a reply, and left the door wide open before disappearing from view.

Hope remained kneeling in the snow for a bit as she watched the people go by, either making their way into the mansion or checking for others... Dori and Mr. Gybney together, a woman she didn't know with a green arm, Mr. Keller looking around him searchingly, Mr. Allerdyce and Ms. Qadir... whom she mostly remembered from the Red X gala (she wondered if it still had occurred in this world) Mr. Keller looking around him and finally Korvus and Meggan standing together. So many people she didn't see... One tear slowly slid down her cheek as she climbed to her feet, dropping into the snow.

Kurt had headed for the kitchen, wanting to get in from the cold and knowing of all the possible places, Jubilee would probably go there first.

Jubilee was indeed in the kitchen, she'd headed there the moment she'd woken, a ravenous hunger driving her onward despite the need to also find her people.

She sat now, surrounded with various foods, tucking into a bowl of reheated chicken salad.

"Hey."

He went to her without delay, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on the top of hers.

"Hey."

The mansion was the same, and yet it was not. The foyer and stairs were still there, the carpet was as it had been last week, though some of the faded patches and stains were different. One of the paintings was new, and some photographs... they were familiar and yet-- it was like someone was overlaying a transparency over their memories, as this world righted itself and grounded. Everything was as it should have been in this world at least, but Jennie was finding she had two sets of memories. Jennie rubbed her arms, pulling her kimono over her bandaged chest, which still bore bloodstains of wounds that had healed. 

"Hello?" she called out. "Professor?" she turned. "Where is the Professor?"

The answer to that question was in the medlab. Cecilia passed by her desk (recognizably hers, even as it was nestled between cabinets she didn't recognize and devoid of some of the knick-knacks she'd collected), taking stock of a medlab that hadn't been blown to bits. Everything was there. Familiar, yet displaced. Sort of like Cecilia herself: Here, but not here. Belonging but not belonging.

Still, no time for thoughts or feelings. Doctor mode was what was keeping her going. And so she rounded the corner into another room and nearly jumped at the sight of Charles Xavier on a bed. "Jesus Christ, Charles." His chest rose and fell, but he didn't stir. At the end of his bed sat a chart - another thing she assumed to be out of place. Perhaps Xorn wasn't perfect after all.

Not wanting to wake him, she picked up the chart and started scanning it. As she read, her eyes widened. "Holy hell," she murmured. Charles Xavier had suffered a stroke.

Laurie had entered behind Cecilia, and now moved further into the Medlab as she noticed Wolverine in another bed. Her eyes tracked his vitals on a monitor above and they seemed steady.

"CeCe, do you think these are ours, or...?"

"Who ever they belong to, they're ours to care for now," Clarice replied, reaching for the box of gloves to pass around and pulled a set on for herself. She immediately went to check Rogue's vitals, running through a series of simple tests. "How're the others?" she asked. "Scott will want a report." 

***

Charles' office seemed unchanged, the chair and the desk, the entire feel of the room one of of comfort and stability. He was glad that this room at least had remained the same. He could still see Charles sitting in his chair lecturing the class on history or steepling his hands when he was disappointed in something one of the things his students had done. Scott let his fingers trail along the edge of the desk as he slowly walked around it to stand behind the desk and flipped through the pages stacked neatly on the desk. If there was anywhere in the mansion that would tell them what was going on it was here in the office, perhaps more the nerve center of the operation. The desk was covered in letters, names he recognized, had just woken up outside with, asking them to come back to the mansion. There there was the sheet he was looking for, a list of letters Charles had sent out asking people to return to the mansion so they could restarting the X-men and other teams in the face of the new problems facing the world. Scott lowered himself into a nearby chair and started paging though the notes Charles had made.

There was a brief knock on the door before Marius showed himself in. His yellow eyes tracked the office, clearly disquieted by the normalcy of his surroundings. He dealt with the discomfort by violently rejecting it.

"Just came to update you," the Australian said. "Rogue and Wolverine are stable. Seems they were present when Xavier had his . . . stroke. Anyway, best guess is they took some manner of psychic damage. Dr. Reyes and Blink are still getting things in order." He tilted his head at the paperwork in front of Scott. "Surely you're not filing an incident report . . ."

Scott looked up and gave the younger man a wry look, "I'm just reading through Charles' papers, it looks like Charles was expecting an influx of people to the mansion and was thinking about relaunching the X-men," he explained nodding at the papers in his hands.

"Wasn't aware we'd been decommissioned. It would explain the frankly excessive living arrangements, however. In addition to a rather daunting number of fully outfitted rooms it seems those from Snow Valley in particular have found several suspiciously appointed suites. It appears that Xorn character thought it best to economize." Marius paused, shifting uncomfortably. He could really think of only one more question. "So . . . what now?"

"What we always do: Survive."

**Author's Note:**

> X-Project is an X-Men Movieverse/MCU RPG on DreamWidth. It started in 2003, set right after the second X-Men movie, and from there took on a life of its own. Thirteen years later it’s become a universe all its own, and includes characters from all walks of Marvel life – no character is too small or too obscure for X-Project. We roleplay mainly through writing logs on email, as well as posts on Dreamwidth.
> 
> If you're interested, check out the below links!
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